


Little Flower

by Canadiantardis



Series: Tangled Soulmates AU [1]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bruises, Character Death, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jschlatt is Tubbo and Ranboo's parent, Kidnapping, Magic, Manipulation, Platonic Soulmates, Prince Ranboo, Prince Toby Smith | Tubbo, Prince TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Tubbo are twins, Rescue, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tangled AU, There is a single OFC who is Ranboo and Tubbo's mom, Threats of Violence, Toby Smith | Tubbo-centric, Villain Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Violence, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings, no beta we die like men, sbi as family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:07:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 24,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29003466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canadiantardis/pseuds/Canadiantardis
Summary: The floating lights only came up the night of his birthday, Tubbo had learned. Hundreds upon hundreds of lights floating up the sky, just within view of the opening of the grotto’s opening. While Father had forbidden him from leaving the grotto, there had been a time, on his seventh birthday where he couldn’t sleep and snuck out to watch the sky, to see the moon, when he had seen the floating lights for the first time. Instantly, he had been entranced, and he had watched until he was close to passing out before he hauled himself back to his room, knowing Father would be furious if he found him by the entrance.Tangled x Platonic Soulmates AU
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Ranboo & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Series: Tangled Soulmates AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2160699
Comments: 448
Kudos: 898
Collections: Completed stories I've read, Found family to make me feel something





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Me, seeing all these Tangled AUs: Hm, I shall add my hat to the ring.
> 
> In all seriousness, I've been wanting to write something longer than one-shots and could only think of tangled, and this story came to be. Updates may be slow, as I'm going to try to bulk up before posting.  
> Without further ado, enjoy!

The story begins as any other; in peace. For peace had never been one to last very long. The wars had stopped, the defeated licking their wounds, the victors celebrating. Treaties were written up, the authorities tired of the bloodshed of their people, and the citizens rejoiced, reunited with the surviving soldiers, regardless of sides.

The victors, the Antarctic Empire, were blinded to small threats, had been for years. Some used this to their advantage; bandits, thieves, small chump criminals. One such man took advantage of the blind eye the Empire had - they had always been too focused on L’Manburg, even when the nation had been newborn centuries ago - when he had found a special flower.

The flower kept him young, with a very special song. He had found it first, long before the Empire had taken control of the land it was rooted in, and he kept it safe. He stayed fit, a name whispered in fear, until the name grew to legend, folklore. He preferred it that way.

However, like all stories, the peace does not last. Due to the treaties written up years ago, the Antarctic Empire had allowed L’Manburg to ally itself with them if there was a dire need. When that need is the life of the queen, and the future life - lives, not that anyone had realized at the time - of the unborn within her, there was an agreement to aid.

While the man had done his best to keep his flower to himself, much like his name, it had been popular folklore that the Empire was just desperate enough to follow. Guards scoured the land, and despite his attempts to dissuade the progress, they soon found the flower and uprooted it, planning to use it in a potion to save the Queen of a nation that had normally been the Empire’s enemy. The man simply thought it was because the current king was too easy to bend with a well-placed sob story. The life of some unborn child would pull at any parent’s heartstrings, and considering the Empire’s queen was also with child, the nation was all-too-eager to agree with the alliance.

Soon, the flower was transported to L’Manburg, the man following behind, never far from the flower. The medicine was made within days, and the queen was saved. The nations rejoiced.

Days later, the twins were born. Healthy and adored, although one was much smaller than the other. Both had the flower flowing in their veins, thanks to the connection between the healing queen and them. Neither cried when they were born, but rather they laughed - or so the story goes.

Princes Ranboo and Tubbo were their names. The family was whole for only a day before it would be shattered.

As if drawn to the magic of the flower, the man found his way to the nursery without being seen. He watched the two with narrowed eyes.  _ Would they both have the healing properties of the flower? _ He felt for the magic he wanted, as since he had been using the flower for centuries he could identify what he needed from it, and found it within the smaller, little baby Tubbo. At first, the man tried to find a way to extract the magic, the healing, but found nothing he could take without simply taking the entire child.

A floorboard creaked nearby and the man stood up straight. He had no time to consider anymore. With a curse, he scooped the little prince into his arms and fled as the second began to wail.

By the time the parents got to the room, as quickly as they possibly could, the man and little Prince Tubbo were out of the castle and slipping away without a trace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so short, next chapter should hopefully make up for it! This was just establishing the setting and stuff~


	2. The Grotto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I never find a place to write it into the story, I should say Tubbo's hair is split blond/brown because seeing those arts of half/half are amazing - and it fits with his twin's hair! He also has heterochromia, blue and brown (also fits with his twin)  
> (I edited some picrews, only edited the hair, and made [ Tubbo](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/752669547793743902/804136026854522900/Tubbo-Little_Flower_AU.png) and [ Ranboo](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/752669547793743902/804136024275812362/Ranboo-Little_Flower_AU.png) )  
> Enjoy~

**16 years later**

The little grotto had gotten dull for Tubbo, he found as he finished his morning chores. The breakfast dishes were washed and drying on a rack, he had managed to play an entire melody on his little guitar without messing up a single note which he proceeded to play several more times before his fingers hurt and he would have no more free time before lunch rolled around, and he swept the main floors. Father had been rather insistent that the best way to use his time was to spread out his chores throughout the days. He would never do the same chore in the same place twice in a row, rather waiting a few days before he would do it again.

Despite this advice, Tubbo found it hard to keep his mind occupied as the minutes went by. Sure, he could read on his downtime, but it would just be the same few novels he had been reading since he first learned - not that he was very good, Father had to be very, very patient teaching him when the letters seemed to move across the page. He tried to ignore his own subconscious movements as he thumbed a small scar on his hand when he had made Father lose his patience while trying to read a page without mistakes.

He looked out the window of his home, a cozy cottage nestled into the back of the grotto. Natural light came from the entrance of the grotto, as well as the lightning bugs that made themselves at home. It would often be difficult to determine if it was day or night without the clock inside the cottage and what little natural light came from the entrance of the grotto.

Not that Tubbo minded all that much. The dark was soothing, calming. Cool. Father said it was safest for him to stay in the dark.

Tubbo hummed as he looked around his room. Lunch would not be underway for another hour or so, and he had decided against reading on the fact his head was aching softly at the thought of focusing on words to not let them slip away. He glanced out his little window, listening to the calming drips of the water falling into the underground lake beside the cottage, when he got an idea.

Slipping off his bed, he grabbed the sticks and string from his chest, and cobbled together a strong fishing rod with a soft flash of light between his hands. He tested the strength of the line before nodding in satisfaction. It had been some time since he went fishing, even longer since he had created something himself rather than Father getting him what he needed - Father didn’t like it when he used his magic, other than his healing, he said it was dangerous for him, that it would leave him defenseless and weaker than he already was since it used up his energy to create things - so he had been worried he would have been rusty.

Satisfied with the fishing rod, Tubbo hurried out of the cottage with a quick look at the clock, grabbing a box to put the fish in when he caught them. Roughly an hour before he would have to return to make lunch for himself. Father wouldn’t be back until the late afternoon, he recalled, and he was excited to see him, if only to hear about what he had gone out to do this time - not that he’d get much of an answer, Father rarely spoke of what he did, rather he spoke of what he saw in the vaguest sense.

He walked with barely a sound to the edge of the lake and sat down on a worn rock, placing everything in their proper places and got comfortable for an hour of relaxing fishing. It allowed him to think still, but he was actively doing things that kept him mostly occupied.

He wondered how Father was. It had been a full four days since he had been home, longer than normal when he would leave for supplies. He wondered why it had been a full day longer than usual, and how Father had known this before leaving in the first place?

It took him a couple minutes, and only when the line tugged did Tubbo realize the upcoming date. He pulled the fish up with a swift jerk of the pole, put it in the box as it flopped about, before he gasped. His _birthday_ was coming up in a manner of days! What if Father had gone looking for a gift for him?

The thought of his birthday had Tubbo barely containing a wiggle of excitement. He’d be _seventeen!_ Practically an adult already! _Maybe Father would let him come with on the next supply run._

His eyes went wide at a thought. _Maybe Father could let him see the floating lights._

They only came up the night of his birthday, he had learned. Hundreds upon hundreds of lights floating up the sky, just within view of the opening of the grotto’s opening. While Father had forbidden him from leaving the grotto, there had been a time, on his seventh birthday where he couldn’t sleep and snuck out to watch the sky, to see the moon, when he had seen the floating lights for the first time. Instantly he had been entranced, and he had watched until he was close to passing out before he hauled himself back to his room, knowing Father would be furious if he found him by the entrance.

After that, he had checked the next few days that the lights were a one-day thing, before he learned it was an annual thing, only on his birthday. With him turning seventeen, maybe, just maybe, he could convince Father to let him go, even accompany him, to see the lights!

He knew it was dangerous outside the grotto, especially for someone as special as him. Magic of his kind was incredibly rare, almost unheard of, and Father had told him time and time again other people were selfish creatures, horrible, nasty, and willing to do unspeakable deeds to anyone who was different. He’d be taken and used for his magic, never allowed to escape or see his loved ones, never allowed to be free.

While he knew the dangers, he also knew if he was with Father, he’d be safe. Father was strong, sometimes so strong he didn’t realize it. He knew how to protect himself from the dangers of the outside, and he never came back harmed. Tubbo had never seen Father hurt once, whenever he returned. The only times he had seen him hurt was small little things like accidently cutting himself when chopping up food or the one time he tripped over a toy Tubbo had left out when he had been six. He had been very mad about that, and Tubbo made sure to never leave his toys out when he wasn’t playing with them from then on.

Surely, if Tubbo had Father with him, if he kept close and everything, he’d be allowed. He wouldn’t be a burden or anything! He’d be useful the entire time, helping Father in any way he could, and then they’d go home once they saw the lights up close, and he’d be happy, satisfied.

He just… had to figure out a way to _ask._

The line tugged in his hands and brought Tubbo back to the present, and he caught another fish. He had almost forgotten where he was, he had been so deep in thought he hadn’t realized he was still in the middle of fishing.

With a shake of his head, he put the second fish into the box, priding in how big both of them were. He would probably be able to wrangle up two more before he’d have to get lunch, yet he also planned on what he could make with the fish he caught. He could use two for supper tonight with Father, he was sure he’d appreciate it. They didn’t eat fish often, despite living right next to a lake full of it. Father always said it was something about diets and needing variety, not that Tubbo had much to disagree with him about. At least when they didn’t have fish, he didn’t have to prepare them.

The hour went by luckily much faster than Tubbo feared, and he had caught a total of five fish, all decently big and fat. He smiled widely at the box of his catches before he made his way back into the cottage, placing the box into the larger coldbox.

He made himself some lunch, reheating the remaining stew he had made the previous night while adding some fresher ingredients for a nicer flavour. It wasn’t much, but he paid no mind, since he had to make his own food when Father was away - and, if he were honest, Father wasn’t much of a better cook, and both continued to question how Tubbo had gotten so good at cooking when Father was so bad at it - and he’d rather the hot stew than a cold sandwich.

As he waited for the stew to heat up to a reasonable temperature, Tubbo started to figure out how he could ask Father. If he worded it right, surely he’d see how much older he was, how he was ready to see the world, even if for only a couple days. He even rarely asked anything of Father now that he was old enough. He made his own meals, kept the cottage clean, did all his chores without a fuss. Father had not been mad at him for ages, he had been so good! Surely he would see that and agree. Even if they had to compromise, Tubbo would agree to anything if only to see the floating lights up close once. His curiosity would be satisfied, he was sure. And if Father saw how grown up he was, maybe he would really be able to be more helpful without being stuck in the grotto. He wasn’t ungrateful, that wasn’t it at all, but Tubbo just, well, he wanted just a bit more.

When his food was ready, and he poured the stew into a bowl to cool, Tubbo rubbed a thumb over his left inner wrist, where a mark rested for so long, he could barely remember a time he hadn’t had it. The mark was stark black against his pale skin, with the design of what looked like a pair of vinyl discs overlapping one another, with a strange winged striped bug resting on top of them.

Tubbo had been ten when the mark appeared, and Father had gone into a fit when he had been shown. To this day, Tubbo had never been more terrified of the man who had raised him than the day he almost took a kitchen knife to the mark, raving about something Tubbo couldn’t understand, about him being taken away from him forever. He stopped, however, when Tubbo screamed in fear, begging for him to stop. After that, he had sworn Tubbo to _never_ even look at the mark, to never let it be seen. It looked benign but was anything but a good thing, like a curse, but he would never tell Tubbo why, or even what kind of curse it was. Since then, unless Father was gone for the entire day, he made sure to wear long sleeves or wrapped his wrists.

It was with a jolt that he realized he hadn’t done either and would have to change before he resumed his chores and before Father returned. With that in mind, he practically inhaled his warm meal before zipping directly to his room to change.

Once he deemed himself ready and his wrists were properly hidden, he went about his afternoon chores with maybe a little too much gusto. He hoped Father would return quickly, and a better hope that he would be in a good mood. He had been for the last few times he came to the cottage. If Tubbo could manage getting him in such a good mood, surely he’d manage to find a way to convince him…

Maybe. He just had to wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise there's gunna be dialogue soon, it's just difficult when there's no one to speak to, aha


	3. Father

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dream makes such a good villain, yall. Enjoy~

Tubbo heard the familiar swish of the grotto’s entrance echo quietly and knew instantly Father had finally returned, and not a moment too soon. He had just finished the last of his chores, done at practically top speed, and he put the rags into the washing bin for another time before making for the front door of the cottage, bouncing on his heels with a nervous but wide smile.

The entrance of the grotto was a fair distance from the entrance of the cottage, but Tubbo instantly focused on the figure walking towards him, a bag slung over his shoulder and his face hidden under a deep cowl. He walked lazily, as if he knew he had all the time in the world, and raised his free hand in greeting to Tubbo, who waved back excitedly.

“Hello, Father,” he greeted once the man got close enough. “How was the trip? Did anything new happen?”

“It was fine, Tubbo,” Father answered lowly, placing a hand on the top of Tubbo’s head. “I’m just a little worn out from the trip, I can’t answer anything until…”

Tubbo straightened up and nodded, taking the bag from him and letting Father enter the cottage first.

“Take a seat, Father, I’ll put everything away, you just sit back.” If he did all this without making a mistake or complaint, maybe that would raise his mood? It wasn’t certain, but Tubbo needed Father to be in as good a mood as possible before he even tried to ask.

Father did not argue, but went to sit in the living room, all but collapsing into the reclining chair with a sigh. Tubbo barely paid it any mind as he zipped from the bag to where everything was supposed to go, humming a random melody softly under his breath.

Everything was put away and Tubbo turned to the living room, hands behind his back so Father couldn’t see him playing nervously with his fingers. “Feeling better, Father?” He asked tentatively.

“Much, thank you,” he finally threw back his hood and Tubbo saw the age-lines under his eyes were more prominent than they had been prior to him leaving. “But I could be even better if I could listen to our song, hm?”

Tubbo almost jumped out of his skin before he sat next to the older man, taking his hand and traced nonsensical patterns on it before he sung what had originally been a lullaby that turned into their song. It seemed to be the only way his healing worked, along with direct physical touch, he couldn’t just sing _or_ be in direct contact with Father for his magic to work, he had to do both.

_“Flower, gleam and glow_

_Let your power shine_

_Make the clock reverse_

_Bring back what once was mine_

_Heal what has been hurt_

_Change the Fate's design_

_Save what has been lost_

_Bring back what once was mine_

_What once was mine”_ he sung low and soft, almost murmuring the words as he felt how the wrinkles on Father’s hand smooth out once again under his own fingers, and Father sighed, melting into the chair.

“Thank you, kid,” Tubbo beamed at the small praise, and Father looked at him with an emotionless expression. “Nothing happened while I was gone, yeah?”

Tubbo nodded quickly. “Mhm, nothing out of the ordinary. I got really good at the melody you taught me on the guitar. Oh! I went fishing just before lunch, caught some good fish, would you want that for supper tonight?”

Father hummed and dropped his head back onto the back of the chair, taking his hand from Tubbo’s. “Sounds good, Tubbo. You remember how to _properly_ debone the fish, right?”

“Yes, Father,” he ducked his head down a bit in shame, remembering the last time they had fish that he had prepared. They have found the odd fishbone here and there and Father had been so disappointed even though he hadn’t said a single thing.

“If you think you’re up to making it right this time, I don’t see why not,” Father said and Tubbo blinked back a wince. Sometimes he was just harsh with his words, he knew. He wasn’t mean-spirited or anything, he just spoke the truth, even if it was hurtful. “But you better get started now, kid. I don’t want to stay up too late waiting to eat.”

“Right! Right, yeah!” Tubbo practically sprang from the chair hurrying to the kitchen to start making supper for the two of them.

▪️~~ ▪️~~ ▪️~~

Tubbo steeled his nerves as he finished cooking the fish, deciding on the best way to approach the conversation he wanted. Father wasn’t in the absolute best mood, but he wasn’t in a bad mood. That had to count for something, right? He certainly hoped so.

“Supper!” He called, setting the dishes and filling the two glasses with water at the table, only sitting down once Father entered the room.

“It looks good, Tubbo,” Father said easily as he sat down across from him.

“Thanks!” Tubbo had ensured Father would get the fish that was the best and triple-checked for bones before he had even begun to cook any of them.

The two ate in relative quiet, but soon it grew unbearable for Tubbo, who began picking at the fish. It wasn’t that he made them bad, no, it was the fact he knew he wasn’t opening his mouth to ask the question burning on his lips since he had gone fishing.

“So, uhm, Father?” He asked carefully, setting down his fork. Father hated when he spoke with his mouth full or mumbled, so he had to speak so, so clearly. “I was, well, I wanted to ask you something.”

“What?” Father looked at him closely and Tubbo couldn’t hide the fact whenever he did that, he grew more nervous than before.

“I, well, it’s my birthday in a few days, you know?” He started with a try for a smile, but it slipped as Father continued to look unimpressed.

“Is it really?” There was that tone he used often that Tubbo had trouble telling if he were serious about topics or being sarcastic. “I thought you had one last year.”

“Well, that’s the thing about birthdays, you know? They’re a yearly thing,” Tubbo put his hands in his lap to not let Father see him fidget. “And, and speaking of yearly things, I was wondering…”

Father tilted his head in that way of his that made Tubbo want to curl up and let the floor swallow him whole. He looked unimpressed and bored.

“I wanted to know, you know, because I’m getting older and more experienced and things, if… You know about those floating lights at night on my birthday?” He blurted, forcing himself to meet Father’s gaze head-on.

Father raised an eyebrow. “You mean the stars?” His tone made Tubbo feel dumb.

“No, no, these aren’t stars!” Tubbo spoke as quickly as he could, unable to keep his hands still anymore. “I don’t really know _what_ they are, but they float up into the sky, but _only_ on my birthday. You can see them just over the treeline outside the grotto opening!”

Instantly, the atmosphere at the table changed, and Tubbo knew he made a mistake. Father straightened up and narrowed his eyes at him and Tubbo shrunk into his seat, trying to be as small as possible.

“What do you mean by that, Tubbo? Have you been going to the entrance?” His words were clipped and Tubbo shrunk into himself even more.

“I, well, I mean,” he stammered, looking at the table because the glare, the anger, in Father’s eyes scared the words away. “I never left the vines. And, and, I only, well, you know, I only pull it apart a tiny bit to see outside. I-”

“Tubbo, what have I said about going near the entrance?” Father cut in harshly, and Tubbo winced.

“N-not to,” he muttered.

“And _why_ have I told you this?”

“Because… it’s not safe.”

“Someone could notice our only safe place,” Father stood up so fast his chair fell over and Tubbo ducked his head further to his chest. “Someone could notice you there and just take you away from me forever! How stupid could you be to do something so selfish?”

“But, but I’m careful!” Tubbo tried to defend himself. “I’ve only ever done it at night, and I never move the vines too much! I don’t, I don’t… I make sure I don’t hear anything nearby, even animals! I’ve never seen another person come by the grotto opening, it’s always late at night!”

“Sure, but what will you do when that stupidity causes someone to notice, causes someone to see you? Hm? What then?” Father stepped around the table and gripped Tubbo’s shoulder uncomfortably tight, his other hand hooking under his chin to force him to look up at him. “Did you even think at all?”

“I’m sorry, I just…” Tears pricked his eyes and Father looked disgusted, pushing him back and causing him to fall off his chair in shock.

“You know why we live here, don’t you? Why you never leave the grotto?” Father loomed over him.

“Y-yes, but, I’m older, Father. I’m practically an adult,” Tubbo scrambled to his feet, clasping his hands together tightly. “I just-”

“No,” Father shut him up with the single word, and Tubbo’s breath stopped as he stared up at him. “This is exactly why you can’t leave. You’re too dumb to realize just how dangerous the world is for you. You think you’d survive outside the grotto?” He let out a harsh bark of laughter. “You barely know how to dress yourself on a good day! You can barely speak like a normal human being and you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“But I can-”

“I said no, Tubbo,” Father grabbed his upper arm with enough force to bruise and Tubbo yelped, wilting under the harsh gaze and rough grip. “You are _never_ allowed to leave the grotto, do you hear me.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, yes. Yes, I hear you, Father,” Tubbo hated how high his voice got, how it cracked in places.

Father quickly let him go with a heavy sigh and Tubbo made himself as small as possible where he stood, looking down at the floor, jolting in place when hands cupped his face and gently brought his gaze up to see Father, his expression disappointed.

“Now look at this, I’ve become the bad guy,” he said with another heavy sigh. “You know I hate yelling at you, Tubbo. I just wish you’d listen and smarten up.”

“I… I’m sorry, Father,” Tubbo softly said, looking at him with regret for his actions. Father was only doing all this to protect him, after all, he shouldn’t ask for anything more, surely.

“It’s okay, kid. You’re still too young to understand,” Father pulled his hands away from Tubbo’s face to extend them for a hug, one Tubbo eagerly took. Father didn’t like physical contact unless he initiated it, which wasn’t very often, but Tubbo relished in every moment, feeling warm and surrounded and cared for, despite the pain around his arm from what would become a large hand-shaped bruise. “You’ll learn, eventually, that I’m always right.”

“Yes, Father.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I had been a little more creative maybe I could have thought of a new song that would fit Tubbo, but sadly not, so I took the actual Healing Incantation song from Tangled


	4. The Figure

Tubbo stared up at his ceiling, unable to fall asleep. His arm felt sore from Father’s grip and rubbed it absently as he struggled to quiet his mind. He was frustrated with himself for telling Father about going out to the grotto entrance. It had been so stupid to think he’d be happy to hear the biggest rule he was supposed to follow, he broke with little regard to himself or Father’s warnings. He had been lucky no one had ever been around when he checked the stars or the floating lights when he had gone out.

He huffed and turned on his side, grabbing a spare pillow and pushing it into his face, as if that would force the stupidity from him.

He just wanted Father to see he was capable, but it was like everything he did, he made tons of mistakes and he’d realize just how stupid and dumb and weak he was. Nothing he did was good enough.

It took Tubbo forever for sleep to find him, and even then it was fitful at best. He barely felt rested when he woke up the next morning, but did his best to ignore the exhaustion that set deep into his bones. He washed up, avidly not looking at the hand-bruise on his upper arm, even if he twitched when he rubbed a hand over it. A reminder of his idiocy.

Then, an idea hit him. He still had a say in what he wanted for his birthday, it was only two days from now! All he had to do was ask for it, and Father would surely find a way to get it, if it wasn’t too much trouble. He couldn’t try asking to accompany or the floating lights, not after he made Father so angry, but he could ask for something like every year previously.

Tubbo dried himself off and changed, wrapping his arms this time and wore a short-sleeve button-up. The sleeves just covered the bruise. He left his room and was about to head to the kitchen to prepare something for breakfast when he paused at the sight of Father’s back at the counter.

“Good morning, Father,” he greeted, clearing his throat when it sounded as exhausted as he was. “You haven’t made breakfast in ages, since I started making food for myself.”

“Morning, kid. You were taking too long,” Father replied, turning his head slightly to look at him from the corner of his eye.

“Sorry, I, well, I couldn’t sleep very much.”

“Well, that’s stupid of you. Go to sleep on time next time.”

Tubbo, despite his best efforts, couldn’t stop the wince at his words. He really wasn’t as ready as he thought not even twenty-four hours ago. He could never do anything right, not the way Father could.

“Yes, Father,” he replied. “Do you want to switch out with me? Or are you almost finished?”

“Set the table, I’m about finished.”

With a quick nod, Tubbo hurried to set the table, grabbing some water for both of them.

They had just begun eating when Tubbo spoke up again.

“Father?” He questioned, playing with his utensil as he struggled to find the right words. “I know what I want for my birthday.”

“Tubbo.” There was a warning in Father’s tone and Tubbo backpedaled quickly.

“No, no, I know I’m not ready to leave, this isn’t it. I was just…” He absently rubbed the covered mark on his wrists. “I want some music discs. And something to play them. It gets awfully quiet when you’re gone.”

Father hummed quietly and Tubbo snuck a glance at him. He wasn’t angry or anything negative, which was good! “But that’s an awfully long way to go to get, kid. I may not be back for your birthday.”

“That, that’s okay, Father, it’s just a day, and we can celebrate together when you get back?” Tubbo suggested hopefully, managing to make eye-contact with Father who had a soft neutral expression. Good!

“Are you sure you’d be okay if I was a little late getting back home, to get you a music player and disc?”

Tubbo nodded and smiled slightly. “Absolutely, Father. It’s something I would very much like to have.”

Father hummed again before he nodded and Tubbo almost whooped in excitement. “Okay, after breakfast, help me pack up and I’ll see you in a few days.”

“Okay, Father!”

▪️~~ ▪️~~ ▪️~~

The _swish_ sound of the vines at the entrance of the grotto perked Tubbo’s attention and he frowned. Father had only been gone for a few hours, he wouldn’t be back so soon, they always triple triple-checked he had everything he would need before he left.

He froze in his spot in the living room, where he had been struggling to read through the novel he decided he wanted to try for leisure, and looked to the front door. Those were heavy, quick footsteps, nothing at all like Father’s walk, and Tubbo knew someone had found him. Someone had found the grotto and Father wasn’t _home._

On light feet, Tubbo hurried to the kitchen for a weapon, and found a freshly washed and dried frying pan. He didn’t want to try to stab the stranger, but he had a feeling something heavy like a frying pan could incapacitate a person. He just had to have the element of surprise to overpower the intruder, who was almost at the front door.

He hid as the doorknob twisted, barely allowing himself to breathe.

“The fuck kinda place is this, in the middle of a fucking cave?” The voice was young and breathless, almost whispering the words to themself. “Is it abandoned?”

Tubbo chanced a glance to the entrance and saw a tallish figure looking around the entrance, messy blond hair sticking up in every direction. He wore different shades of pale blue and white with a striking red bandana around his neck.

The figure turned away from him, checking something they had on them, and Tubbo knew it was now or never, and on the quickest feet he had ever could, he snuck up behind the figure and brought down the frying pan _hard_ across the back of their skull with a dull _clang!_ The figure had no chance to respond besides a choked-off yelp before they collapsed to the floor.

“Oh Ender,” Tubbo whispered to himself, dropping the pan with a clatter and looked down at the figure.

Another human being was in the grotto - in his very _home_ \- and Tubbo had managed to subdue them, to knock them out.

He looked around everywhere about the figure before he stooped down and turned them over. They looked like a young man, maybe even his age? Tubbo wasn’t entirely sure because the other was much taller than him.

The blond wore rumpled clothes, as if he had been sleeping in them for a bit, long-sleeved and thick for the winter weather outside the grotto - it was warm inside, thanks to the protection the entrance had against even the elements - though had thin gloves. They looked more decorative than practical, in Tubbo’s opinion.

Around the figure’s shoulder was an empty looking satchel, and when Tubbo checked, he saw how there was only a few apples and jerky and a waterskin. It didn’t seem very practical, he mused, as he sat back on his heels.

Now he had to figure what he was supposed to do with the person knocked out by the entrance of the cottage.

▪️~~ ▪️~~ ▪️~~

He settled for tying the blond up. He needed to know how someone had found him and if he was anything like what Father warned him of. Based on the brief moments the blond had been conscious, he hadn’t seemed to be looking for anything in specific when he entered, and sounded almost surprised by the cottage, but Tubbo had to be _sure._

So he waited for the person to wake up, slapping his cheeks lightly until the person groaned, shaking his head.

“Wil, stop it,” he whined, trying to move his arms, only to snap his eyes open when he couldn’t. “Wh-”

Tubbo had tried to jump away out of sight but the blond had noticed him too quickly and he stood still, eyes wide as the other stared at him for a moment.

Then the tied up person screamed. _“WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!?”_

Tubbo yelped in response, recoiling away as if burned, and the other simply stared at him, cursing him out so quickly he had no idea what the other was even saying.

“Me?! I should be demanding that of you! You just broke into my home!” He retorted when he found his voice, crossing his arms over his chest defensively. “Who the hell are _you?”_

The blond spluttered for several moments. “You don’t know who I am? Wh-have you been living under a rock or something?”

“Am I supposed to know who you are?” Tubbo frowned, tilting his head slightly.

“Oh my god, I got kidnapped by a clueless hermit,” he rolled his eyes, something Father did whenever Tubbo did or said something really dumb, and the frown grew.

“Wh-I didn’t _kidnap you,_ what the hell? You broke into my home! Why?”

“You _live_ here?” The other blinked at him in shock. “Ender, what the hell, man?”

“Answer my questions,” Tubbo said, struggling to keep his voice even. “Who are you, how did you find me?”

“Find y-?” The other shook his head and took a deep breath. “Y’know what, fine, call me Tommy. I’m… trying to get away from some people for a bit, found this place entirely by accident. It looked like a good hiding spot, what with guards on the lookout through the roads. I didn’t even know this place was occupied!”

Tubbo looked over the other, Tommy, carefully, but found no reason for him to be lying. “Why were you trying to get away from people?”

“Oh for fucks…” Tommy rolled his entire head this time and took another deep breath. “My family was going to L’Manburg for the dumb festival, and I didn’t want to go yet.”

“Festival? Does that have anything to do with the floating lights?” Tubbo grew curious.

Tommy groaned and nodded. “Yeah, yeah. It’s so boring except that day, really. I just didn’t want to be there for a week early, it’s always boring as fuck. Seriously! You’d think the royals would think about having more fun activities leading up to lanterns!”

Tubbo only understood some of what the other was talking about, but already he was thinking. “Were you going to Le-Man-berg?” The word felt weird in his mouth. “To see the lights?”

“Yeah, only good thing about the festival. Also gotta show my dumb family I can handle myself and meet up with them.”

“Could you, uh, take me with you?”

That got Tommy’s attention and he snapped his head to Tubbo with a bewildered expression. “Why?”

“I, well…” Tubbo shifted from foot to foot. “I’ve never left this grotto, but I’ve always wanted to see the lights up close. And you see, it’s kinda my birthday, coming up.”

“Dude,” he wasn’t sure what the word was for.

“Please? I’ve always wanted to go and-”

“Sure, sure, whatever! Let me go,” Tommy cut him off and Tubbo stopped entirely in surprise. He had thought surely this guy would not have agreed to it. “I can’t feel my fingers, you tied it too tight, man!”

“Sorry! Right, let me…” Tubbo hurried around to untie Tommy from the chair, who quickly rubbed his wrists once he was free, muttering too fast for him to understand.

“Wait, you said your birthday was coming up, right?” Tommy asked as he stood up and stretched, turning to face Tubbo.

Tubbo nodded and Tommy hummed.

“How soon?”

“When the lights happen,” he answered, and Tommy hummed again a little higher this time.

“You share my friend’s birthday. Weird,” he shook his head before he looked around the room. They had been in the kitchen for the entire conversation. “Whatever, we need to stock up for the walk. If my geography hasn’t failed me…” He reached into his pockets and brought out a compass and piece of paper. “We shouldn’t be more than a day and a half’s walk from the capital.”

He unfolded the paper to reveal a map, something Tubbo had only seen once or twice when he snooped in Father’s room. He understood none of it, but Tommy seemed to understand it easily, turning the paper and smoothing it down onto the table, placing the compass right next to it.

“Yeah, we’re right close to the border between the Empire and L’Manburg, and we should get to the capital with enough time to spare before the lantern ceremony begins.”

“Great! Uh, what should we need?” Tubbo asked.

“Uhh, food that won’t spoil quickly. I only had some jerky and shit, but that won’t last both us for sure. I need to refill my waterskin, and I dunno, maybe some extra clothes if you’re really fucking picky about it. Do you even plan on coming back here or what?”

“Oh!” Tubbo paused and frowned, deflating slowly as he thought about it. _Did he want to return?_ “I think I should come back. Father would worry out of his mind if he found me gone.”

“You’ve been living here with someone, and they’ve never taken you to the lantern festival?” Tommy sounded incredulous.

Tubbo made a face. “He says it’s not safe out there.”

“That’s fucked up,” Tommy stated before the conversation was quickly dropped before Tubbo could even process it. “Anyway, food, water, clothes. Maybe my family can escort you back after the lantern festival. We’d have to go a little out of our way to get here but it’s still on our way back home.”

“Oh, that’d be great!”

“Fine, fine, I know I’m great, let’s hurry this up, dude.”

“Oh, my name’s Tubbo.”

“What the fuck is a Toob-O?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the start of a beautiful friendship~


	5. History Lesson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to say I'm really really happy people are liking this story, holy crap! I get really happy reading all the comments I get and there are honestly so many people who've subscribed to this story (almost 90 people, holy shit! This story has more subscriptions than any other story I've written) So thank you, thank you all for reading, commenting, giving kudos, bookmarking and subscribing
> 
> Ahem, anyway, onto the chapter~

Tubbo stood before the entrance of the grotto, staring at the vines that hid the opening for as long as he could remember. He had never stepped past the very spot he stood, and he felt like he was having a war inside his head over leaving or not.

“C’mon then,” Tommy’s voice shook him out of his head, and he watched as Tommy pulled the vines away to show the outside.

A cold breeze whistled through the opening and suddenly Tubbo was glad he listened to the other teen’s suggestion of wearing a thick cloak and shoes. It was much, _much_ colder out than close to the cottage.

“Are we going _now_ or what?” Tommy demanded, frowning at Tubbo, and the expression spurred him into action.

“Yeah, yeah we’re going,” he answered and steeled his nerves. He took his first step out from the small opening, then another, and suddenly, he was outside.

_He was outside!_

Two warring emotions welled up inside him, euphoria and terror, over his actions. He was outside, he wasn’t stuck inside like always, he was going to see the floating lights! Yet, at the same time, he was disobeying Father, he wasn’t safe, he could get hurt or stolen or worse!

He heard the _swish_ of the vines falling back into place as Tommy stepped out beside him, lifting his hood up as he shivered.

“I hate the bloody cold,” he muttered, and Tubbo nodded. He had never been a fan of the cold. “Whatever, c’mon, the faster we move, the closer we’ll be to the capital and the festival.”

“Sounds good,” he agreed, wrapping himself better in his cloak - it wasn’t actually his, it was a spare one for Father, which meant it was a bit long for him, but it still worked as designed - as he followed Tommy through the forest that had always been just outside the grotto.

As they walked, Tubbo took everything in with more enthusiasm than he had in years. There were so many trees, and while most held no leaves, he saw prickly green trees scattered about - pines, he recalled distantly from one of the books he had read when he had been very young - which piqued his interest to no end. It also had him thinking about some topics Tommy had brought up back in the cottage.

“Tommy, what’s the Empire?”

Tommy, to his credit, jumped a foot off the ground at the question and turned to stare at Tubbo like he had grown a third head. “What the fuck, man? You don’t know the Empire? What was your dad even teaching you? What the fuck?”

Tubbo lifted his hood over his head, trying to hide and swallow his stupid questions after they had been uttered. Almost immediately Tommy’s expression shifted and his cheeks went pink.

“Sorry, sorry, I just… Were you taught any kind of geography or history or that boring crap?” He looked away from Tubbo and played with his gloved hands.

“Uh, not really. Father taught me important stuff, I guess, like cooking and fishing and reading. I’m not really good at reading, though, I’ll be honest. The letters always float off the pages and hurt my head.” Tubbo shrugged lightly, glancing at Tommy carefully. “Can you tell me about the Empire then? And Le-Man-Berg?”

Tommy muttered something too quick for Tubbo to understand before he sighed and nodded. “Sure, we have a long walk ahead of us, might as well. But this’ll be a very, I don’t fucking know, loose lesson. I barely remember history on a good day.”

“Okay, that’s fine by me.”

Soon enough, Tommy launched into a very haphazard, impromptu history lesson of the two major neighbouring countries, which Tubbo learned his home was placed vaguely on the border between them. The Empire, formally known as the Antarctic Empire, had been around for a long time, going back hundreds and hundred of years ago, filled to the brim with hardened warriors who originally wanted to get away from the wars of their original nations, now long gone or integrated into the current nations. It was still known for the great fighters, and their army was apparently something to fear. Tommy seemed to be proud of this fact but didn't go into why.

L’Manburg had been, in comparison to the Empire, a newer nation, only coming into power a few hundred years ago, and while it wasn’t as large, it held a lot of power in terms of resources. A strong foothold in the form of port towns, good land for crops, and some apparently very rare ores and other natural resources.

Up until maybe a century ago, according to Tommy, the two countries were bitter rivals. They hated each other and had war after war after war with one another. When the last war had finally ended with the Empire’s victory, the rulers of the countries finally decided enough was enough, and signed some kind of peace agreement. They had apparently seen nothing good would come to the continued bloodshed and wanted their citizens to know of peace.

“And the peace has been maintained even today,” Tommy continued, just as they reached the end of the forest and found a well-worn road. “There even was a thing, before I was born, about how the queen of L’Manburg was dying, and the Empire helped save her with some super, super rare potion. Mum always told me that that was how the prince was saved, too.”

“Oh? How so?” Tubbo asked. He had been asking small questions during the entire lesson and listened with rapt attention, in awe over what Tommy knew off his head. And he said he didn't know his history.

“Well, the queen had been pregnant when she became all ill and shit, and the potion saved her and her son. He would have died otherwise,” Tommy shrugged. “After that, nothing else much happened between the two.” He lit up suddenly, which caused Tubbo to jump in surprise. “Oh! There had been an attempted kidnapping when the prince had been a few days old! No one knows what happened exactly, but there had been rumours of someone appearing in his nursery before the guards noticed something was weird, but he wasn’t taken, which is good, I guess.”

“Woah, that must have been scary.”

“I don’t fucking know, I wasn’t even _born_ yet,” Tommy grumbled.

“Oh.”

Tommy shook his head. “Anyway, that’s all that I can remember.”

“How did the festival happen?” Tubbo asked.

“Oh, I don’t… really know,” Tommy frowned. “I’ve asked my parents about it, I’ve even asked dumb Wil about it because he seems to know fucking _everything._ But no one will give me a straight answer. They call it like a ceremony or something stupid like that, and I feel bad that it always ends on Ran’s birthday. It’s like all the adults are sad and it makes him sad which is fucking stupid. It’s why I hate going to L’Manburg an entire week before the lanterns. It’s so dumb.”

“Yeah, it sounds pretty dumb. What’s Ran like?”

“Ran’s fucking weird. He’s so annoying, but at least he’s tolerable unlike anyone else I’ve known. We’ve been friends since we were kids, but I don’t get to visit him often, since he lives in L’Manburg, and I live in the Empire.” Something about Tommy made Tubbo feel like he was leaving something out, but he couldn’t figure out what it may have been, and before he could try to ask, Tommy simply sped on, talking about stuff he and his friend did whenever they were together.

Soon, though, as the sun reached high in the sky, the two fell to silence, eating the last of Tommy’s jerky - they had restocked his bag with some bread and the fish Tubbo had caught the day before for when they could set up a fire later in the day - and taking turns with the waterskin.

“Tell me stuff about you, Tubs,” Tommy said suddenly as they took a break by the road, resting their legs a bit. “You lived your entire life in a little cottage in a fucking cave, you don’t know any kind of history about where you live, and you’ve never stepped out of that cave until today. What else should I know?”

For several moments, Tubbo actually thought about telling - or more accurately, showing - Tommy about his magic, when a small voice that sounded a lot like Father whispered in his head all the dangers of letting anyone know about his powers.

Instead, he went with a safer route. “I can play the guitar really well. I can’t read the little music stuff but I can play by ear.”

“Really? Cool.”

“Yeah. I started learning when I was like, twelve. Father had gotten me a little guitar to keep me entertained when he went on his outings and stuff. I was abysmal at first, utterly horrible at playing something that didn’t sound like a shriek.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it, little man,” Tommy smirked when Tubbo squawked at him, whacking him on the arm. “Hey, hey, I’m just saying! You're so fucking short!” He laughed.

“You’re an ass!” Tubbo muttered, but he was smiling, and Tommy’s laugh was strangely infectious. He soon joined in and the euphoric feeling from before came back in full force. Not only was he finally outside and going to see the floating lights up close, he had made a friend, another person who wasn’t at all like what Father warned him people would be like. He felt… happy, for the first time in a long time.

He studiously ignored the burning guilt in his guts for the same thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Call this a filler, I suppose, but hey, history lesson~ And look, they're bonding


	6. L'Manburg

As the sun began to set over the horizon, Tommy said they would have to set up camp now before there would be no light to work with, and the two set up at a small clearing just off the road. Soon a fire was started and the fish were being cooked, and the two sat on opposite sides of the fire, enjoying it’s warmth.

“Hey, Tubbo?” Tommy called, and when he looked over, he saw how the other teen had a thoughtful frown on his lips. “Can you tell me stuff about your dad?”

“Oh, uh, what do you wanna know about him?” Tubbo asked in return.

“What’s he like? Why did he tell you going outside that cave was really dangerous?”

“Oh, uhm…” Tubbo hummed quietly as he thought, a hand rubbing over the covered bruise. “He’s really strong. I think he told me he made the cottage by himself, all by hand.”

“Damn, that’s pretty impressive.”

“Yeah! He’s also really nice and patient. I’m not, well, I’m not good at a ton of things. I make so many mistakes but he’s always there to tell me about them and to tell me that I have to be better.” As he continued to speak about Father, he didn't notice the frown that only grew on Tommy’s face. “He’s really protective, I guess. He wants me to be safe. I don’t know, I think he was afraid of someone learning about me and taking me from him.”

“That’s… kinda fucked up, Tubbo,” Tommy said, and Tubbo jumped in surprise.

“What, what do you mean?”

“I get the overprotective parent shit, but that’s a little extreme. I mean, not even being allowed outside of a fucking cave that’s in the middle of nowhere? Even I was allowed to explore when I was a kid, even if it scared my parents stupid. And pointing out every little mistake? Man what are you supposed to be, some god who makes absolutely no mistakes?”

Tubbo frowned at his words, but couldn’t find a way to counter them. They… made sense, in a way. Any time he made the smallest mistake around Father, he was reprimanded and was expected to be perfect at everything the very first try, like with the fish, or making meals, or cleaning, or…

“I don’t know your dad like you do, Tubs, but that seems to be a lot of pressure.”

“Y-yeah…” Tubbo stared at the fire. “I don’t know if he means to act like that, though. Father’s just… intense.”

“Maybe, Tubbo,” Tommy replied simply. “Uh, anything else you wanna talk about?”

An out, an easy out from the line of questioning and Tubbo almost visibly relaxed, focusing on the fish, figuring they were nearly well-cooked. “I don’t really know. I don’t have many stories, what about you?”

They fell into a comfortable conversation of Tommy talking about past experiences, mainly involving his older twin brothers and getting in trouble either with them or by them tattling on him. The fish was soon taken off the fire and the two began eating, spitting out the extra bones found, and every time Tommy spat one out, Tubbo expected a disappointed voice or look or something, and while Tommy grumbled, it was never directed at him. It was… odd, he found.

But also really nice. Tubbo had no need to be absolutely perfect. He hadn’t realized how much of a weight that took off.

▪️~~ ▪️~~ ▪️~~

The next morning, the two teens headed out on the road again just after the sun had risen, having the last of the apples for breakfast. It had been uncomfortable on the rocky ground, but at least when they had set up camp, there wasn’t a chill or snow on the floor. Still, Tubbo recalled how he burrowed into his cloak through the night, and despite the two having gone to sleep not close, they found themselves curled around each other when they woke up.

Neither of them spoke of it.

There wasn’t as much chatter as well as they walked. Tommy had said they’d reach L’Manburg capital by noon or a little later, which would give both of them time to join in on some festivities, maybe find Tommy’s family, and then they’d find his friend Ran, and they’d all join in the lantern portion of the festival together. It was all very exciting and Tubbo was looking forward to seeing what the city looked like. According to Tommy, it was very nice and very big, but they’d have to stay to the main streets and Tubbo shouldn’t wander off if he didn’t want to get lost.

As they approached the city, the two found they weren’t the only ones on the road heading to the capital. No one paid much attention to them besides the odd friendly wave here and there, and Tubbo found himself sticking closer and closer to Tommy as they walked.

“Damn, I didn’t know you were a clingy bitch,” Tommy teased - Tubbo could hear the smile in his words, he found Tommy’s emotions to be easy to read, easier than Father’s - as he patted him on the shoulder. “I get you haven’t been around lots of people, like, ever, but chill, man. It’ll be okay as long as I’m here. Yeah?”

Tubbo nodded and took a deep breath through the nose, taking a half-step away from the taller teen, and within minutes, the two were stepping onto the main road of the city.

The noise was almost too much for him. Voices overlapped, laughs, shouts, excited screams, so much noise, that Tubbo had to take a solid few seconds to not freak out with all the warnings that sounded like Father screaming in his head. He had to remind himself he would be safe, that nothing was going to happen because he had someone to keep him safe.

It was as he was fighting with himself when Tubbo recognized a sound, and he looked around to hear the music floating through the air from various musicians, playing more instruments than he had even known existed. Guitars, lutes, pan flutes, and even a piano, along with too many he didn’t recognize. The sounds filled the air and people were dancing and laughing and a sort of longing gripped him.

All it took was a pleading look to Tommy before they both joined in on the dancing. Neither were really good - Tubbo had bad coordination, Tommy seemed to be bad on purpose - but it didn’t seem to matter to the dancers. It was all for fun and they were easily included, shown the moves, and went right into it.

Tubbo couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed so much he was left breathless.

“This is so much fun!” He cried to Tommy when they eventually left the dance as the music wound down for a break, grabbing the taller teen’s arms if only to make sure he wasn’t about to lose sight of him or fall over. “I’ve, I’ve never had this much fun in my life!”

“Hell yeah!” Tommy laughed, smiling widely, though he looked to the sky. “I’m glad, man, but I think we should probably find my family, or Ran.”

“Oh! Right, right! Where would they be?”

“Uhh, I think I have an idea,” Tommy’s smile slipped a bit before he pulled Tubbo after him. “C’mon, I want to find Ran before the lanterns are handed out. We have the best place every year to hang out!”

Tommy led Tubbo through the streets, and as they walked, Tubbo found himself staring everywhere around them, from the festival decorations to the buildings to the people themselves. There was… so much colour and life, and slowly, he found himself thinking about how wrong Father had been about so many things, that so many warnings and rules had been wrong, though he couldn’t understand why he would have said them in the first place.

He hadn’t long to think as they approached a couple guards who were watching the area at the ready, and Tommy waved to get their attention.

“Puffy! I thought you weren’t taking route duty anymore.” He called and the guard in question, a woman with poofy, curly two-tone hair that seemed to fight with the helmet on her head, looked surprised before relief flooded her expression.

“Tommy, where the hell have you been?” She demanded, walking over to them, nodding to the other guard to stay put. “Your father has been worried out of his mind since you ran.”

“Sorry, sorry, I just…” Tommy grumbled incoherently before he straightened and turned to Tubbo. “I made a friend! That’s gotta count for me not going with everyone.”

“A friend?” The woman, Puffy, looked down at Tubbo, who shrunk back until she smiled kindly. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m glad you kept our prince company while he drove his poor family up the wall.”

“H-hi,” Tubbo managed the single word before he processed Puffy’s words and he blinked a couple times at her, then at Tommy who was studiously looking away from both of them. “Wait, _prince?”_

Tommy looked like he wilted a bit and narrowed his eyes at Puffy, who looked surprised. “Wh-yes, yes, yeah.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Tubbo demanded, unsure how he felt about the fact Tommy hadn’t ever told him he was royal.

“You lived under a rock for most of your life! You would have known if your dad ever actually told you things!”

“Hey…” He frowned at the taller teen and folded his arms over his chest.

“Sorry! Right, sorry,” Tommy sighed. “I just…” He looked to Puffy and put his hands on his hips. “Where’s Ran or my dad, Puffy?”

“Oh, uh, they should be in the castle still. Prince Ranboo’s been awfully bored without your company, I must say,” she turned with a little too much force in her movements and she beckoned them to follow, which they did after a couple moments of hesitation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this and the next chapter were gunna be one chapter, but it was getting much much too long. So I split it up.


	7. The Garden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ranboo~ ranboo~ ranboo~

“Why didn’t you ever think to tell me, Tommy?” Tubbo asked again as they walked.

“It was nice making friends the normal way,” Tommy grumbled, rubbing his left wrist slightly. “I don’t _get_ to make friends normally. Either they’re trying to get something from me, or they’re other noble snot-nose brats. Ran’s been the only exception in the ‘snot-nose brats’ category but he’s still another royal so it wasn’t a normal friendship. I wanted to see what having a normal friend was like for once.”

“Oh.” Well, Tubbo couldn’t exactly argue with Tommy on that. Tommy was his first and only friend. “I… I’m not happy you didn’t tell me but I get it.”

Tommy brightened and his steps got back to normal, he had been dragging his feet before. He looked relieved with what Tubbo had said.

“Yeah, okay, I probably deserve that. But, whatever, you know now, you know Ran’s the prince of L’Manburg now, and we can hang out and I can probably not get grounded for the next decade if I can…”

“Oh, you’ll be grounded for a lot longer than a decade, Tommy,” Puffy chuckled as she glanced back at the two. “You may even have Techno Training kicked up a notch or two.”

Tommy groaned and dropped his head back. “Not his dumb training! I’m gunna not feel my damned legs if we do that!”

“You should have thought of that before you ran from your family, Your Highness,” she laughed lightly again, and turned back forward as they reached a large gate where a few guards stood at attention.

“Ah, Captain, wha-” One guard said, before their eyes landed on Tommy and a look of understanding crept onto their expression. “Ah, I was wondering when Prince Thomas would be arriving, but who’s the other kid?”

“My friend!” Tommy spoke before Puffy could, putting an arm around Tubbo’s shoulders. “I give him clearance.”

The guards all looked to one another, then to Puffy before they opened the gate. It was all a lot confusing for Tubbo, but he was glad there wasn’t anything bad happening. Especially with how many of the guards held sharp looking weapons that looked like they could skewer him with little effort.

Tommy pulled him along, now that they were inside the gates, with a looming castle in front of them, overtaking Puffy as the two practically ran forward.

“Ranboo’s likely in the garden!” Puffy called, and the direction where Tommy was running changed slightly. When Tubbo looked back, he saw Puffy was jogging after them, likely keeping an eye on the duo.

They ran around the castle to a small gated area, and Tubbo found a pleasant scent coming from it, and heard a heavy buzz in the air.

“Ranboo!” Tommy shouted, causing Tubbo to jump away in surprise. “Open the gate, dumbass!”

“Tommy?” A new voice called on the other side of the gate, and the sounds of footfalls were all the warning the two got before the gate opened quickly and a tall, tall person stood before them. “What the hell, man? You didn’t even-”

Tubbo stared at the person, Ranboo, the prince, whatever he was supposed to be called, with a slight tilt to his head. He was ridiculously tall, almost a good foot and a half taller than him and if Tommy was to be believed, he was their age. He had a distinct two-tone hair colour, pale blond that almost looked white on one half of his head, and dark enough brown that it looked black on the other, similar to Tubbo’s own hair - his was darker blond and lighter brown. He wore a simple black mask over his lower half of his head but his eyes - green and ruddy brown, which surprised Tubbo, who had only seen others with the same colour eyes except for himself with his blue and brown eyes - held more expressions than the rest of his face. They had gone from soft and fond to surprised and confused when they landed on him next to Tommy. There was something tickling the back of his mind as he looked at the prince, but Tubbo couldn’t figure out what it was.

“I made a friend on my way here. Don’t worry, he’s chill,” Tommy said with a wide smile. “This is Tubbo, Ran. Tubbo, this is Prince Ranboo, or the most obnoxious asshole in the world.”

Ranboo laughed, his eyes squinting in that happy way Tubbo had seen Tommy do multiple times over the past twenty-four hours they’ve known each other. “Of all the ways… You know what, I’m going to ignore you,” he waved a hand in Tommy’s face before looking at Tubbo curiously. “Your name’s Tubbo? Cool name.”

“Thanks. Ranboo’s pretty cool, too,” Tubbo responded, though he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to say specific things. Tommy spoke differently from any storybook he had been read when he was younger of royals, and he couldn’t tell if that was how the world really worked or if it was just Tommy.

“Thanks, man. Uh, come in, I was working when you guys came,” Ranboo stood back and allowed Tommy and Tubbo to enter, Tubbo ignoring the muttered words Tommy made over being ignored.

The garden was nothing he had ever seen. Flowers of all shapes, sizes, and colours were planted around the path. Tubbo barely knew what a couple of the flowers were called, but he saw tulips and lavender and small little daisies, those he recognized, scattered about the garden in clumps.

It was as he stared at the flowers that he saw what was causing the buzzing noise that hadn’t stopped yet, as a flying thing the length of Tubbo’s thumb and almost as thick, black and yellow striped body, landed on a flower. It looked to be searching for something inside the flower before it pulled away and began flying once more, bumbling along without a care in the world except the flowers that surrounded them. He spotted a box that seemed to be housing most of the buzzing, with the flying things coming and going from little openings Tubbo noticed a moment later.

“Please don’t swat at the bees,” Ranboo’s voice startled Tubbo, and both immediately looked apologetic.

“Sorry!” They said in unison, blinked at one another, before Tubbo smiled widely. It looked like Ranboo was smiling under his mask as well.

“Uh, but yeah, try not to swat them or step on them or something. I’ve been losing them like crazy the past few weeks because people keep killing them.” 

“Oh? Uh, okay. Will do,” Tubbo nodded, looking at the flying things, these bees that Ranboo called them, and found himself absently rubbing his covered mark, finding the bees to look exactly like the outline of the thing on the discs. He subconsciously wondered what that meant.

Tommy simply flopped over in the grass, out of the way of most of the flowers and taking care not to crush any that were nearby, taking off his cloak and pulling off the long-sleeved top he had on, a thinner no-sleeves white shirt underneath.

“Are you hiding from your dad?” Ranboo asked as he went over to a watering can by a bush of flowers.

“Yes. We’ll see him when we get the lanterns, though, can’t avoid that,” Tommy answered, laying down with his limbs splayed apart. “But for now, Puffy or some other guard will be able to tell him I’m back so he won’t have to worry until then.”

“Why though?”

“Dude, it’s so boring here until today. Happy birthday, by the way, both of you, but I hate being here earlier, we can’t do anything and-”

“Wait, both?” Ranboo interrupted, turning to look at Tubbo, who looked back with a nod. “Yo, it’s your birthday as well? That’s so cool! How old are you now, uh, Tubbo?” He said his name carefully as if he had forgotten it.

“Seventeen,” he answered, and Ranboo’s eyes practically lit up.

“No way, same!”

“Really? Woah!”

“Yes, yes, good for you, you’re both older, congratulations,” Tommy grumbled from where he laid on the ground, and when Tubbo looked over at the blond, he noticed something odd on his wrist. Something… oddly familiar, yet he had never seen Tommy’s bare arms until now, and it had colour rather than the outline Tubbo was more familiar with.

“Tommy, what’s that on your wrist?” He asked, surprising both of the princes and Tommy pulled his arm to his chest.

“What? This?” He briefly flashed the mark at him. “Well, of course your dad wouldn’t have taught you about these, they’re really fucking rare. It’s a soulmark, it means the Prime gods fucking blessed me with knowing who my soulmate would be on sight.”

“Soul...mark… Mate?” Tubbo frowned at the words.

“Someone who will be with him, no matter what,” Ranboo explained gently, walking over to Tommy and sitting beside him, Tubbo finally sitting down with them, unknowingly rubbing his covered wrist with his thumb. “I think they can be anything, like a best friend or a lover or something else like that. It’s like two people who are meant for each other or something.”

“Yeah, what Ran said,” Tommy nodded. “I got this when I like, turned ten. It was really funny when Dad realized I hadn’t drawn on mysel… What the fuck?”

Both Ranboo and Tubbo looked at Tommy curiously as he stared at his wrist.

“What?”

“It’s, it’s fucking got _colour,_ what the hell?” Tommy showed them his mark, and like Tubbo had noticed, it was exactly like his mark but coloured. Yellow and brown stripes on the bee and the inner part of the disc on top was a dark green. “How the… doesn’t that…?”

Tubbo was moving before he knew what his hands were doing, and he unravelled the wrappings around his arm, looking at his wrist as it was revealed.

Coloured exactly like Tommy’s mark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ranbooooooooo  
> And the soulmarks are relevant again~


	8. Soulmates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta be honest here, fam, every time I look in my statistics I just about feel like crying because there's so many of yall. Over 130 subscriptions, over 120 bookmarks (with about half being private) and over 330 kudos and I'm not even finished this little fic. Thank you, thank you, thank you, I cannot ever express my utter admiration for everyone who've said they enjoy this. I'm continuously blown away by the support this fandom gives <3
> 
> anyway, enough about me being sappy, enjoy~

“What the fuck?!” Tommy shouted and grabbed Tubbo’s arm, pulling the mark closer to him. “How the, what the, _what?!”_

“Woah,” Ranboo’s whisper was barely heard as all Tubbo could focus on was his wrist, the memory of Father threatening to cut it off leaping to mind and he yanked his arm close, out of reach from the two.

“Woah, Tubbo, what’s wrong?” Tommy asked and he had to blink hard to get rid of Father’s face on the blond’s… his… soulmate’s face??

Something foundational within Tubbo seemed to have shattered and all he could do was stare up at Tommy’s face before he looked back at his own wrist.

“This isn’t a curse?” He asked in a soft whimper, holding his arm with his other, his thumb barely grazing the edge of the mark. “It’s good?”

“Wh…” He heard Ranboo make a sound but didn’t notice what made him stop.

Hands appeared in his line of sight, taking his own and there was something about the motion that broke Tubbo from his staring contest with his apparent soulmark, and he looked up to see Tommy with a gentle expression, something he had not seen on the blond since they had met.

“It is anything but a curse, Tubbo,” he said with such conviction it infected Tubbo’s head, burning away the memory. “It’s good, I promise.”

The two looked down at Tubbo’s wrist before Tommy placed his right beside it, staring at the matching marks, when Tommy laughed breathlessly.

“I can’t believe I had to run to the middle of nowhere to find you, man,” there was something fond and warm in his words and Tubbo couldn’t stop himself from launching himself into his chest, hugging the blond with all his strength. It was only a moment before Tommy returned the hug.

It was very different from any kind of embrace Father ever gave him and warmth bloomed in his chest that had never happened before. The hug felt safe, warm, even eager or reassuring. It didn’t exactly envelope him like Father’s, but it felt… better. He couldn’t describe it, but it simply felt realer than Father’s hugs have ever been before.

The two stayed like that for several minutes, and Tubbo knew the princes were whispering something fiercely between the two of them, but he paid the conversation no mind, still adjusting to the fact that Father had been wrong about the mark and that it was the exact opposite of a curse.

It did cause him to pause, however. _Why had Father been so adamant the mark was bad? Why had he lied about the mark being evil, a curse? What else could he have lied about to him?_

_Was Father even trying to protect him, or was there another reason for the cottage being in a grotto?_

A throat cleared, and Tubbo returned from his head, pulling away from Tommy to look at Ranboo, who was looking anywhere but at the two of them. “We should, uh, we should probably get going. I think things will have started getting set up for the lanterns.”

“Right! We’re going to our spot, right, Ran?” Tommy asked, grabbing his cloak and putting it on over his shoulders, wrapping his long-sleeved top around his waist.

“Yeah, of course,” Ranboo looked to Tubbo finally for a brief moment. “This is your first time to see the lantern ceremony, yeah?”

Tubbo nodded, unsure if his voice would work still.

“Then get ready for your socks to fly off, because it is incredible to see up close and personal.”

▪️~~ ▪️~~ ▪️~~

The trio of teens walked through the castle to the entrance, where Tubbo spotted a group of people already milling about, another trio with similar colours as what Tommy wore, and judging by his slouch and face turning away from their direction, he could guess these were his family members.

“Time to face the music,” Ranboo muttered, and chuckled when Tommy groaned. “I’ll wish you luck now, but I’m not speaking when we get to them.”

“Gee, thanks, asshole,” Tommy muttered back, combing through his hair with his fingers as he took a deep breath.

“Thomas!” The shout came from one of the shorter figures, and as they approached, Tubbo saw the age-lines enough to tell this was likely the king, Tommy’s dad. He wore a long cape around his shoulders and a thick crown on his head. “I swear to Ender, you ever try something like that again, I’ll be chaining you to one of your brothers.”

“Hey!” “Hell no!” The taller two people cried at the same time. They both wore much thinner circlets on their heads, though one was silver and the other was gold. Tubbo found this the only differing thing about the two, who looked remarkably identical. They even wore glasses but one had rectangular frames and the other had circular ones.

“I won’t! I promise!” Tommy retorted with more confidence than he had even a minute prior. “And hey, look, I’m back, alive, not a scratch on me!”

“Yeah, and soon that dumb luck will run out,” the twin with the silver circlet scoffed.

“Oh please, I’d sooner be struck by lightning than get hurt for running away for a bit, Wil,” Tommy stuck out his tongue at the other, who looked unimpressed by the display.

“No fighting, either one of you,” the king warned, and although he was just slightly taller than Tommy, he seemed bigger than all three of his sons put together, and when Tommy was within reach, he grabbed him and pulled him into a tight but short hug. “Stop giving me so many grey hairs, son. I’m too young for this much stress.”

“Sorry, dad,” Tommy muttered, before he pulled away with a bright look. “But, but but but! I made a new friend and! Look, look!”

He turned around and pulled Tubbo forward, grabbing his arm and pulling him forward, placing his own arm right next to Tubbo's so the three could see the matching soulmarks. Tubbo hadn’t re-covered his wrist, since there wasn’t a point to it anymore.

“No way,” the brother that spoke before, Wil, had his mouth agape.

“Impressive,” the other brother mused, looking between his brother and Tubbo. “How did you find each other?”

“Oh, you’ll never believe it! But, uh, can that wait until, like, later? We have to hurry before someone else finds the spot,” Tommy was practically bouncing on his heels.

“You better keep your word this time,” Tommy’s dad said, but didn’t stop the three teens from turning away and leaving.

“That went better than I thought,” Ranboo commented once they had made it far enough away from Tommy’s family.

“Yeah. Lucky me,” Tommy laughed, the spring back in his step as they walked, Tubbo following the two with no clue where they were heading.

They got three lanterns from a seller, and made their way to the top of a hill, where they had the best view of the city, even with the castle just off to the side. The sun went lower and lower over the horizon as the three waited, talking about nothing in particular.

“This’ll knock your socks off, Tubs,” Tommy nudged him in the side.

“Here, before it starts, let’s set up the lanterns. They’re horrible to set up the first time,” Ranboo said. He explained the process of putting together the lantern so they wouldn’t fall apart easily, even showing Tubbo how to make each piece work until a cylindrical paper lantern was sitting in his hands, the little candle at the bottom unlit for the moment.

Tubbo looked down at his own similar bundle of items, then he looked to the other teens before quickly deciding to follow his instincts over the voice that sounded like Father. If Tommy really was his soulmate, the person he was best suited for, his likely best friend, he should be able to trust him, and his other friend. Right?

“I think I know a faster way,” he said, taking the entire unmade lantern in both hands and used his magic, the soft white flash between his fingers the only indication he had done something, before the completed lantern sat in one hand.

Both princes’ jaws dropped in shock.

“Yoooo!” Ranboo yelled, pointing at him with a large smile. “That’s so cool! You have magic too?”

“Too?!” Tubbo cried, staring at the tallest teen.

“Yeah! Holy shit, I can, well, I can’t do anything like that, but I can like, teleport anywhere I can see and I guess, kinda like, talk to anything? Not plants or stone or that stuff. And hear things back in perfect Common,” Ranboo bounced where he sat. “I can’t do the teleport thing very well, it really tires me out, but man, I’ve never met another magic user my age before!”

“Really?!” Tubbo started bouncing in place as well. “I, that’s amazing! I’ve never, this is so cool!”

“Oh, Prime, there’s two of you,” Tommy groaned in annoyance, yet when Tubbo looked over, he saw the blond was smiling widely. “Hey, Tubs, Tubs, if I mess mine up, could you fix it? Ran can attest my attempts are fifty-fifty.”

Tubbo blinked, but nodded. The energy it needed to make the lanterns was a little more than it had taken to make the fishing pole days ago, which hadn’t been a lot to begin with.

Ranboo laughed and nodded. “Yeah, he either makes it right the first time or the lantern breaks apart in his hands. I still plan on pointing and laughing at you if you break it again this year.”

“Oh shut it, bitchday boy,” Tommy snapped with a laugh. “Like you’ve never messed up making these things.”

“Yeah, when I was like twelve,” the other prince countered. “Now hurry up, it’s going to start any minute now.”

Tommy grumbled and went to work, and luckily made the lantern properly.

“You have the light, yeah?” He asked Ranboo, who nodded and pulled out a long matchstick from a pocket. “Perfect, I think it’s starting!”

Both princes turned their attention to the castle and Tubbo looked over to see a single, large light float up from where he thought the big gates were, soon followed by other smaller lanterns. Ranboo struck the match and carefully lit the candles before blowing the match out.

“Okay, you don’t want to, like, throw the lantern up, watch us, yeah?” He looked to be smiling under his mask as he glanced at Tubbo, and together with Tommy, they gently pushed their lanterns up into the air, Tubbo copying them a couple seconds later and their lights soon joined the collection up in the sky.

It was breathtaking. Tubbo could barely even think of how he felt, couldn’t even explain the sight before him and how it struck him mute. It was everything he had ever wanted since learning of the floating lights a decade ago exactly, and more. The lights lit up the area around them like lightning bugs, and it looked like several danced around one another. Warm oranges and soft yellows took over the dark evening air, casting over the entire city.

Tubbo hadn’t realized he was crying until another body pressed against his side, followed by another on his other side and warmth threatened to burst from his chest. It was like the best, the absolute best birthday present. A chance to see the floating lights up close and personal, and actual friends, everything Father had always warned was super dangerous yet what Tubbo wanted above all else.

He wished the moment would last longer than it did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	9. Return Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

The three teens sat and watched the lanterns as they began to drift back to the ground, almost a full half-hour after it had begun before Tommy pulled away from them with a long stretch.

“Right, I should… I’ll be back, yeah? Gotta talk to dad about… everything. Before he tries to actually go through with roping me to Wil or Techno.”

“Should we come with?” Tubbo asked, about to get up when Tommy shook his head.

“Nah, nah, stay here and relax a bit, I don’t think I’ll be gone too too long. I’ll get back in no time and we can go back to the castle and have like a sleepover or some shit, yeah?”

“Sounds good to me. Tubbo?” Ranboo glanced at him, and he nodded quickly. He had only read of sleepovers, but they sounded fun if they were done with friends.

“Yeah, okay. Good luck talking to your dad, Tommy,” Tubbo said, and Tommy’s smile grew even in the dark light - only the moon and the stars were up, the trio were a bit out of the way for the lamps along the streets to reach them well enough - before he turned and hurried off to find his family.

“Ender, this has been the weirdest birthday, huh?” Ranboo laid back, hands under his head.

Tubbo chuckled and nodded. “Yeah. But also quite possibly the best one I’ve ever had.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Ranboo chuckled along with him. “Man, I can’t believe Tommy finally found you. It’s been a dream of his, y’know? To find his soulmate before he got, and I quote ‘got too old and shit to do anything with them.’ I don’t think I’ve seen him that physical with another person… ever.”

“Really?” Tubbo questioned, and smiled a little at the affirmative hum. “I thought he was just always like that. Or that it was me being clingy or something.”

Ranboo laughed and shook his head. “Oh hell no, Tommy would rather kick you in the head than hold your hand, to anyone else. It’s nice to see him like this.”

“Same. I’m glad he found me,” Tubbo rubbed his soulmark lightly with a thumb.

“You are, are you?” A deeper voice from behind the two teens froze Tubbo solid and Ranboo scrambled up to look to where the voice came from.

“Hello?” He called. “Who are you?”

“F-father?! Ho-how did… Wh-” Tubbo tried to think but all he heard was internal screaming and yelling as he turned to see the man stalking over to them, only to stop a couple feet away. His face was hidden in the dark shadows of his hood. The bruise on his upper arm almost felt like it pulsed.

“How did I find you?” His words were light, but the way he held himself petrified Tubbo, rooting him in place. “I simply followed the trail of betrayal, and look, here we are.”

Tubbo winced, but made no other move.

“Tubbo, we’re leaving. Now.” He knew this tone. He was in deep, _deep_ trouble. Father wasn’t just mad or disappointed, he was _livid_ and barely hiding it.

“Hey, wait, no,” Ranboo grabbed Tubbo’s wrist and stood in front of him, much to Tubbo’s surprise. “He’s not going anywhere with you.”

Father didn’t answer, but seemed to simply stare at Ranboo until the taller teen began to fidget. “And what do you plan on doing from stopping me from taking what’s mine back?”

“Wh-” Ranboo barely got a word in before Father blurred forward, and Tubbo could only take in air before he was in front of them both, grabbing Ranboo and pinning him down before either teen could properly react.

“Fa-Father, stop!” Tubbo scrambled to his feet but stopped when he saw what Father held in one hand. A small but sharp looking dagger.

“Quiet,” he ordered and Tubbo snapped his jaw shut so hard his teeth audibly clicked together. “I am done with trying to be nice for you to listen. And before _you,”_ he pulled out a small dark bracelet-type thing that looked to be made of solid obsidian and easily put it around Ranboo’s wrist, a quiet _click_ locking it in place, “think about it, this should stop you from trying to teleport away.”

“T-Tubbo, run!” Ranboo struggled under Father, his mask slipping down his nose. “I’ll be, ugh, fine, go find Tommy!”

Tubbo wanted to move, but he found himself unable to budge, rooted in place.

“If you run, you will never see him again,” Father warned. He pressed down on Ranboo until the prince grunted in pain, stilling. “Here is what will happen, boys. You will come with me quietly if you want the prince’s life to last longer than his seventeenth birthday.”

Tubbo couldn’t figure out what he could do, his head screamed at him to run, but he couldn’t just leave Ranboo if Father was threatening his life.

“Get up.” He moved before he could think about listening to the order, staring at Father and Ranboo, unable to think. Father lifted the prince to his feet, twisting an arm behind his back before he forced the teen to walk. “Come, now, Tubbo.”

“You’re his father and you’re…? You’re a mons- _ah,”_ Ranboo snarled before it turned to a yelp of pain and he looked like he almost buckled down when Father twisted his arm further behind his back.

“Quiet, Your Highness. I’d hate to break something that can’t be mended,” Father said casually and it sent a cold thrill down Tubbo’s spine.

By the time Tommy returned, roughly ten minutes later, he would find no one there and no sign of where his friends had gone besides part of Ranboo’s mask by the treeline a little ways down the hill.

▪️~~ ▪️~~ ▪️~~

Father put a similar bracelet-type obsidian thing around Tubbo’s wrist as they got moving. Well, really, he made _Tubbo_ put it on himself, keeping a tight grip on Ranboo to keep him from trying to escape or cause trouble. The moment the _click_ sounded, his mind went fuzzy, like something was suddenly missing, or suppressed. He stumbled but caught himself on a tree trunk, and they were off, silent the whole way through. Father would not let either of them speak nor be close enough to the other, and they walked through the night with only a few minutes for breaks.

They returned to the vines covering the entrance to the grotto by the time the sun was high in the sky the next day. Father gestured for Tubbo to walk in first, following with Ranboo, pushing him forward and finally letting him go. The moment he was out of reach of Father, Tubbo reached out for the prince so he didn’t fall from the push.

“Get in now,” Father ordered tersely, pointing to the cottage, so very far from the entrance of the grotto.

Ranboo looked like he wanted to argue or fight, but Tubbo held his arm and gently tugged him, wordlessly pleading with him to listen. Tubbo had no idea what else to do, Father had never acted like this before - a small, mean part of him that sounded an awful like Father whispered it was probably because he broke the _biggest rules_ he had made to protect him, so _of course_ he would be madder than ever before - and the threats against his new friend’s life stood out in his mind. He was the reason Ranboo was in danger, so maybe if he followed Father’s orders, he could do something right and protect the prince.

The mask had slipped down around his neck during the journey, since it had ripped when he had been pinned to the ground on the hill, so his expressions were easier to understand. His lips were in a thin line and his brows were furrowed as he looked down at Tubbo, before he followed the tug.

The two teens entered the cottage, keeping close to one another. Nothing looked out of place from when Tubbo had last been here a few days ago, just like it always looked.

He turned when he heard the door shut loudly, the click of the lock sliding into place almost too loud in the too quiet - after the hustle and bustle of people and things in L’Manburg, it was too quiet in the grotto - cottage.

“My parents will know I’ve been taken, you realize this, right? You can’t just kidnap a prince without consequences,” Ranboo finally spoke as he glared at Father.

He gave no reply right away, he simply chuckled and pulled his hood down. “I’ve done it before, actually. To your parents, in fact. Though I suppose taking a full grown child may be different from a newborn.”

Both teens looked at him in confusion when Ranboo glanced down at Tubbo, who looked back at him as the prince had several emotions pass through in the span of a couple seconds, when he snapped his head back to Father.

“What are you talking about?” He asked, cautious. He kept a hand on Tubbo’s wrist.

Father chuckled and raised an eyebrow. “Did your parents never tell you?” He sounded almost… gloating, and something in Tubbo’s stomach sank or froze solid, he wasn’t entirely sure. It hurt though. "They never told you that you had a twin?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, tfw you meet your twin you never knew even existed~


	10. Twins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very excited for this chapter, because it will be the one that gets me to over 1 million words written in total on ao3. Yall, I've been writing since 2014 and this is such a big little thing for me?? It's wild that I've written collectively 1 million words since 2014, and I'm also so proud of this fact???
> 
> Anyway, ignore my ramblings, enjoy the chapter!

It would be impossible to tell who figured out what the man told the two teens first. It was not immediate, but the two understood, with mounting horror, at almost the same time.

Ranboo’s hold around Tubbo’s wrist tightened a little bit and he shifted his stance as if he were trying to hide the shorter teen from Father’s sight, even if it was partial cover.

“Y-you… what?” Tubbo questioned, his thoughts spinning much too fast for him to catch up. Surely Father was lying. Surely he wouldn’t…

_“People are selfish creatures, Tubbo,” Father would tell him. “Horrible, nasty, and willing to do unspeakable deeds to anyone who was different. You’d be taken and used for your magic, never allowed to escape or see anyone you loved, never allowed to be free.”_

“You did the very thing you always said would happen if I left the grotto,” he realized, and he took a step back, Ranboo taking a step back with him. “You… You never really cared about me, just my healing magic.”

Fa-The man smirked and slow clapped, making Tubbo wince at the noise. “Colour me impressed, kid, it only took me pointing it out for you to get it,” he dropped his hands and his expression went expressionless. “Ender, you really are stupid.”

Tubbo flinched at the words but a small flickering anger quickly took over how everything he had ever known turned out to be a lie. “You, you took me from my family, just for my magic? What ki-why?” He twisted his hand so he held Ranboo’s tightly.

“Your family took from me first.” There was something sharp in his eyes as he took a step forward, and despite being a few inches shorter than Ranboo, he towered over the two of them. “That flower’s magic was mine, I was only taking back what was rightfully mine.”

“Wh-You took a _child,”_ Ranboo argued, meeting the man Tubbo had thought was his father head on. “You took… you took my _brother._ And for what? Because of some dumb flower?”

“The flower saved your mother’s life. Not that it should have mattered, it had been mine and mine alone, and it was taken from me, without my permission.”

“You’re a monster,” Ranboo muttered.

“You won’t continue to get away with this. Especially since you kidnapped Ranboo,” Tubbo wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince, himself or the man.

He laughed, throwing his head back as he did so before he dropped to look directly at Tubbo, who shrunk back at the dark expression on his face. “And how do you plan to stop me? Neither of you can use your magic with those cuffs on you, and I know you’ve never thrown a punch in your entire life, kid.” His eyes went to Ranboo as he spoke. “And _you_ haven’t even mastered hand-to-hand combat.”

“You need my healing so you can be strong and young,” Tubbo scrambled to think of a threat that would work against the man. He had to think of a way to protect Ranboo, his friend, his _brother._ “You know the only way my healing works is through the song.”

“What are you implying?” The man took another step forward until he was within arms reach of the two teens.

“Tubbo, n-” Ranboo sounded like he understood what Tubbo was getting at, but before he could get another word out, the man knocked him down, out of Tubbo’s grasp and onto his back, a foot pushing on his chest to keep him down.

“What are you trying to say, Tubbo.” The man repeated, cutting off any attempt Ranboo made to speak.

“If, if you don’t let Ranboo go, I will fight you, every minute of my life,” Tubbo tried his damnedest to keep the waver out of his voice, his hands in fists by his side without Ranboo’s hand to hold, to ground him. His head hurt with every word he said, yelling at himself that he shouldn’t be threatening Father, the man who raised him and cared for him, the man who hurt him, belittled him, never _really_ cared for him, who used him and got mad whenever he made the smallest mistake. “I, I won’t _ever_ stop trying to fight you, unless… unless you let him go.”

“Tubbo, no,” Ranboo wheezed the words out as the man stepped on his chest harder.

“How am I supposed to believe you, kid?” The man replied, his eyes almost alight in amusement at the situation before him. Tubbo’s stomach twisted in knots. “You couldn’t even listen to my simple rules of not leaving the grotto. And it doesn’t matter if you’ll try fighting me or not. You _will_ listen to me if you don’t want your brother’s blood on your hands.” He scoffed and looked down at Ranboo. “I could also use his magic.”

Tubbo shook at the idea of Ranboo going through what he had gone through for the last seventeen years.

“This place is known,” the man mused, as if he weren’t keeping one teen under his foot. “I guess it can’t be helped. Tubbo,” said teen stiffened at his name, “pack as much as you can in half an hour. We’re going.”

“Where are you taking us?” He questioned, flicking his eyes from the man and Ranboo quickly.

“Time is ticking, kid,” was the only answer given, but it spurred Tubbo into action.

He didn’t want to leave Ranboo with him, but it was obvious he wouldn’t let the prince out of his sight - or under his boot, as it were - so Tubbo tore his eyes from him to hurry to the kitchen for as much food as he could find that weren’t about to rot or spoil. Once he had everything from there, along with a couple waterskins, he went to his room for extra clothes.

For a minute, he stayed in his room, where he had spent so, so much of his life within. He first discovered his creation magic here, when he had made a little toy out of a handful of pebbles. He first played his little guitar here.

Tubbo looked at the guitar for a second, wondering if he should bring that along, but thought better of it, instead grabbing it and flipping it to the backside. He looked around for something to use before he found a scrap piece of wood, thick enough to not break at the slightest bit of pressure, and scratched out two words as quickly as he could.

Once he was finished, he put the guitar with the message up on his bed, grabbing the sheets to bring along.

In total, once he was finished packing under the time limit, he had a little under three backpacks full of items, one entirely filled with food-related stuff. He was panting by the end of the time limit, having already been running on fumes from not being allowed to sleep since the night before.

“Is that everything you could get?” The man - Tubbo wasn’t sure what else to call him, since he had only ever known him as Father and he refused to call him by that name ever again - asked in an almost bored tone.

“Y-yes,” Tubbo answered.

“Good,” he finally, finally stepped off Ranboo and grabbed the foods bag, slipping it over his shoulders. “I will decide when we stop to eat. Get up and grab a bag, Your Highness. We’re leaving now.”

Ranboo rubbed his chest with a bitter expression as he picked himself up off the floor, glowering at the man. He walked over to the bags and grabbed the heavier bag, leaving Tubbo with the lightest bag to carry, and he put a hand around his arm.

“I wouldn’t think of trying to run or fight me, if I were you. Neither of you are much of a challenge,” the man remarked as he pulled his hood back up, obscuring his face.

Ranboo scowled at him but neither teen said a word to him.

“Are you okay?” Tubbo questioned in a whisper, looking over his fr-brother worriedly.

“Chest is sore, but I’m okay, Tubbo,” he replied lowly.

“Before we go and either of you think of something smart,” the man said, walking over to a side of the house and returning with two lengths of rope. “Hands out.”

The two looked at one another before listening to the order and their hands were bound together, while the man held the end of each rope like a lead. Tubbo’s stomach twisted almost painfully when he tried to wiggle out of the rope but only felt it scratch and burn against the attempts. Ranboo stopped him with a shake of his head, and they were pulled forward by the rope.

Tubbo prayed they’d be able to find some way out of this. Either by Tommy or someone finding them, or getting out by themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I could end this in a couple chapters if I follow the actual Tangled plot points  
> Also me, but more angsty: No <3  
> I *can* promise, however, this will end happily. We just gotta get there~


	11. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friendly reminder the "Violence" tag is here for a reason~  
> And I've written the rest of the story, so we know when it'll end!

They stopped for the night and Tubbo could barely feel his legs. The man - Tubbo began to think of him as Nightmare, because he never knew his actual name, and he was _not_ his father - only let them rest during the daytime for half an hour in total, only giving the teens enough water and food before the sun fell to keep them going. So when Nightmare said they would be here for the night, he practically collapsed where he stood, Ranboo not far behind him.

The three found themselves in a deeper part of the forest, going the opposite way of the sun that had set only an hour ago. Neither teen had any idea of where they were being taken to, and Tubbo wondered if Ranboo had any idea where they currently were. The two had barely spoken since they had left the grotto, mainly because of Nightmare’s proximity, leading them by the ropes in his hand keeping them tethered to him. That, and talking took more energy than they were allowed to expend.

Ranboo leant against Tubbo’s side, breathing as heavily as he was as he rested his head against his. Tubbo idly wondered if he was this physical with Tommy or if it was because he was trying to catch up on seventeen years of being brothers. Not that he minded either way, he easily returned the little physical contact with a light nudge using his head.

Nightmare tied the ropes to an exposed root nearby, checking that they were securely stuck where they were until he decided they could be untied.

At least he wasn’t making them do anything like cook or something.

He made no fire for them despite the chill.

“Are you just going to let us freeze to death in the night, then?” Ranboo snarked when they were given small chunks of bread to eat.

Nightmare chuckled. “You’ll be fine, Your Highness. We aren’t in the heart of the Empire or anything.”

Ranboo muttered too quietly for Tubbo to even understand him.

“Are you going to let us take off the packs?” Tubbo asked instead, shifting the bag on his back. Nightmare had already taken his pack off to grab the food and waterskins in the first place, and it was on a tree out of reach of the teens.

He hummed for a moment before walking over. He untied Tubbo’s wrists first, keeping a tight grip on his upper arm, directly over the bruise that had not had enough time to fade yet. Tubbo winced at the pain but did his best to ignore it as he shrugged off the bag, only to have his wrists bound together again as Nightmare went on to Ranboo, who grimaced at the hold.

Once the bags were down, they were placed next to the food pack and Nightmare sat down easily. He hadn’t taken his hood down, so it was impossible to see what expression he may have been making. It was unsettling.

“Why?” Tubbo asked once he finished his chunk of bread, looking directly where he knew the man’s eyes were.

“Why what?” He replied neutrally.

“Why any of this? Taking me, holding us… hostage, all of this.”

“I already told you, if you’d actually listen to me, maybe you’d understand.”

“That’s not a fucking answer,” Ranboo argued. “You don’t just kidnap kids because of a damn flower.”

“That _damned flower,_ boy, is the only reason you are alive,” Nightmare spoke in a low, dangerous tone. “It had been the only thing that was mine, kept me alive all these decades. And now that you two were born with the flower’s magical properties in your veins, well…” Tubbo could imagine the smile on his face, and he barely suppressed a shiver. “I will not be losing my little flower again.”

“You’re absolutely horrible, you know that?” Ranboo said, and Nightmare chuckled lightly in answer.

He gave them the sheets Tubbo had brought from his room, and the two curled up together. Tubbo was glad for the extra bit of warmth, and the fact they weren’t separated. Small mercies, small blessings. It was a little awkward with their bound hands, but as the night became darker and darker by the minute, they figured a way to lay comfortably.

“I’m sorry,” Tubbo whispered as he listened to the even breaths of the man who had once been the one who raised him his entire life. “I’m so sorry for causing this…”

“You didn’t cause anything, Tubbo,” Ranboo whispered back, rather forcefully too. “Dude, it’s not like you knew any of this right?”

Tubbo shook his head slowly. “I knew he used me more for the healing magic I can do, but not… not anything else,” he was pretty sure, anyway. “But, I mean, I still got you captured. If, if Tommy hadn’t found the grotto, he wouldn’t have brought me to L’Manburg, or you or anything. I’d, I’d still be trapped, but you wouldn’t! You’d be with your parents and nothing would be wrong.”

Hands awkwardly grabbed his shoulder and as the moon rose in the sky, he could just make out the expression on Ranboo’s face. Concern, anger, and something that had him breathless for a moment, some kind of deep care he had never seen before.

“For one, they’re _our_ parents. For another, I’d rather be here with you than never have known you existed. We’ll escape… somehow. And with Tommy still out there, he’ll do whatever it takes to get us back. L’Manburg and the Empire won’t stop, I know it. Not when Tommy’s soulmate and me suddenly up and vanished like this. We’ll… We’ll figure it out, Tubbo.”

Tubbo had too many thoughts to focus on what he wanted to say and found himself saying the first thing without thinking. “What are they like? Yo- _our_ parents?”

Ranboo answered in a light but quiet way, telling him about the parents Tubbo never knew.

▪️~~ ▪️~~ ▪️~~

They were moving north, towards the warmer temperatures but still further from any places that Ranboo may have remembered from his lessons. Tubbo was still left in the complete dark on where they were. He noted the trees were not just the pines with green leaves and there wasn’t any snow or even frost upon the ground they walked in the morning. He wondered if they should consider themselves lucky the weather had been fair so far, only growing cloudy or overcast without actually raining or snowing or whatever may fall.

Tubbo kept silent most of the journey. Speaking took too much energy, he found, so he opted to speak only when they actually rested, despite the words that begged to be yelled, to be hurled at Nightmare that held him and Ranboo captive.

_Seventeen years._ He still couldn’t quite believe it. He had been living as a prisoner of his own home for seventeen years to a man who kidnapped him from his real home because of the very reasons he had been warned to stay in the dark grotto. Raised to keep the man young and fit, for what? The rest of his life? Like some… Tubbo wasn’t sure what analogy he could make at this point, but he knew there was one to be made.

Seventeen years of believing the man to be his Father, believing he cared about him at all. Looking back, he could find many examples of how he never cared about anything but his powers, and even then he only cared for the single healing powers he had rather than the creation magic he could use.

Nothing he believed to be true turned out to be true, his entire life a thinly veiled lie. And it hurt. It hurt deep, and he wanted to explode with that hurt, direct all the hurt at the man who caused all this, because what had Tubbo ever done to deserve this? He never asked for his magic, never asked to be born with some dumb magical flower’s powers.

The bruise on his upper arm pulsed like a cruel reminder.

Yet, while Tubbo went quiet, Ranboo spoke his mind. He showed his emotions, his distaste, his anger all for Nightmare leading them along. He snarked and sassed when he could, poking and prodding deliberately throughout the day.

Tubbo wasn’t sure if he approved or not, really. It was nice to have someone sort of understand him and direct even the slightest bit of everything he had gone through at the man, yet at the same time, he could tell how Nightmare was losing his patience with Ranboo. He almost wanted to tell him to stop, but anytime he was about to, something stopped him from opening his mouth.

It was late in the afternoon on the third day of travel when Nightmare’s patience wore through, it seemed. Ranboo had made a passing remark, something about the stupidity of kidnapping princes, when Tubbo heard the quiet but frustrated sigh come from Nightmare.

He barely had time to open his mouth before his lead was yanked forward. Tubbo gasped before his arms were forced up as the rope was looped around a high branch, making him stand on his tiptoes so he wasn’t hanging. He couldn’t even see what was happening to Ranboo until the rope was tied around the branch and he could focus on what was going on.

Nightmare stood with his back to Tubbo, looking at Ranboo who’s rope was dropped. “Trying to get a rise out of me will only end in your pain, Your Highness. I would have thought you’d realize that. Apparently the apples don’t fall far from the tree, after all.”

Ranboo looked downright murderous, his teeth bared in a snarl. “Shut the fuck up. You don’t know anything about my family.”

“I know plenty, boy. And if you want to let out your aggression towards me so badly, try it,” Nightmare goaded, stalking up to him and easily untying the rope around his wrists. “I’ll even give you a free punch first.”

“Wait, stop,” Tubbo struggled against his bonds but it was difficult with his arms high in the air and how he needed to stand on his toes to not dangle the inch or so above the ground. “Stop, don’t do this!”

“Quiet, kid,” Tubbo snapped his jaw shut on instinct. “Let him make his mistakes.”

Nightmare had nothing else to say when Ranboo’s fist landed heavily across the jaw, and to Tubbo’s surprise, Ranboo managed to make him stumble back.

The surprise quickly turned to dread when Nightmare chuckled. “Good hit, now it’s my turn.”

He barely had time to cry out when Ranboo went down hard, hands over his face, yet Nightmare wasn’t over. He kicked him hard in the side, grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him up, taunting him - _“Get up, don’t you want to get this out of your system?”_ \- and Tubbo could only watch, feeling more than useless.

Ranboo did try to fight back. He got a couple good hits in, but for every single hit he made, he received far more in return. Already, he had a bruise across one cheek, and a black eye on the other side.

The fight barely lasted five minutes when Nightmare deemed it over. Ranboo was once again sprawled on the ground as the man stood over him, squatting down beside him and grabbing him by the hair, pulling his head up to get his undivided attention.

“Let’s hope you only take one lesson to learn how to behave, boy. I won't go so easy next time,” he said as he let Ranboo go, who only responded with a low groan of pain. He stood up and turned towards Tubbo, who could only watch in apprehension as he approached. “I’ll give you twenty minutes before we continue on.”

The moment the rope keeping Tubbo trapped to the tree branch had been pulled off, he ran to his brother, looking over him frantically despite the bound hands, wishing he could heal him right away.


	12. The Cabin

They reached their destination a few days after the fight.

Ranboo hadn’t spoken during the daytime since the fight, only whispering to Tubbo as they struggled to sleep, talking about anything that wasn’t entirely related to their situation. It would have been nice settling-down-time if not for the fact he had a horrible black eye, or how he flinched whenever Nightmare walked towards the two of them, either to untie them briefly or to give them food or the waterskin to drink. It made Tubbo feel all the more guilty for being the cause of his suffering, indirectly. He may not have thrown the punch, but he was the reason he wasn’t back at home with hi- _their_ parents, without a care in the world. Tubbo had left the grotto and caused all of this.

Their destination appeared to be an old cabin nestled in a clump of trees, practically invisible in quick glances around the area. There were heavy locks on the door, and the windows were all boarded up, at least what Tubbo could see of the building.

The ropes went slack and the teens looked to Nightmare. “Inside.” They only hesitated for a second before listening, Tubbo passing closer to him to make sure Ranboo didn’t.

It was dark inside without any good natural light to come in, and dusty as hell. Ranboo sneezed and grimaced as likely the black eye or bruise on his face hurt from the movement.

Tubbo quickly went about untying his brother, with the reasoning they were in the place Nightmare was going to keep them in, and with only one exit, they should be able to use their hands again. Ranboo repaid the favour and untied Tubbo once he was free. Their wrists were raw and red and it hurt to flex their fingers, but it was better than not having feeling in them at all. He rubbed his soulmark, and somehow it managed to calm him down. He thought he felt it pulse.

Nightmare entered the building a few minutes later, and Tubbo left him no time to say anything before he finally spoke up.

“Let me heal him,” he said, raising his arm with the obsidian bracelet-cuff. “You have us now. Let m-let me heal him.”

For the first time since they had left the grotto, Nightmare pulled his hood down, and even with the dim light, Tubbo could see his face again. He looked thoughtful, an eyebrow raised at him. Tubbo did not look away even as his heart hammered painfully against his chest.

“Myself first, then you can heal him, kid,” he answered after what felt like forever.

Tubbo gulped but nodded, stepping forward to close the gap between him and Nightmare.

It turned out there needed to be a specific key to unlock the obsidian bracelet-cuff, and the moment it was unlocked, the fuzzy feeling that had his head swimming since they had left the hill faded away, an all-too-sharp clarity in his mind.

Nightmare lit some lanterns around the home so they could see as he made his way to the living room. It was much the same as the cottage’s furniture, but different materials and fabrics, and not to mention dusty from lack of use. Nightmare sat with a puff of dust from the couch, causing him to cough and wave away most of it. Tubbo followed a couple steps behind, with Ranboo a single step behind him. While Tubbo sat, Ranboo continued to stand, pulling uselessly at his own bracelet-cuff.

Tubbo wanted nothing more than to attack the man he sat next to, but knew it would be useless. He was faster than both teens combined, stronger too, and Tubbo just knew they were at every disadvantage for the time being.

Instead, he lightly took Nightmare’s hand, swallowing all the curses he wished he could utter, took a deep breath, and sang. His voice was rusty, yet he still felt the magic within him set to work, reverting the man back to top condition.

With a content sigh, Nightmare pulled away once the song was finished, stretching like he had just woken up from a great night’s rest. Immediately, Tubbo was off the couch and placing his hands on both sides of his brother’s face. Ranboo had looked shocked at the magic in effect, eyes wide as he searched Tubbo’s face for… something, he wasn’t exactly sure what.

He sang again, softer and lighter than before, and he almost sagged as the bruise faded away, and the black eye healed before him. He smiled softly as the song ended.

Ranboo took a deep breath and smiled back lightly. “Thanks,” he murmured before pulling away.

“Put the cuff back on,” Nightmare ordered and Tubbo shut his eyes tightly, wishing he had a couple more moments, but the bracelet-cuff was in his hands and he knew it would be easier for him and Ranboo if he listened.

The fuzzy feeling in his head sucked, though, as he heard the little click lock the bracelet-cuff around his wrist. He hated how it felt like an entire piece of himself was missing, and he wondered if Ranboo felt the same thing.

“So, what now?” Ranboo questioned, looking around the living room with wary eyes. “You have us now, congratulations.”

“Careful with that tongue, boy,” Nightmare warned, leaning back on the couch like he wasn’t threatening a teenager enough to make said teen pale. “Next time I may not let him heal you right away.”

“He didn’t heal me right away the first time,” Ranboo mumbled loud enough for Tubbo to hear, yet at the look from Nightmare, he clamped his mouth shut, looking away quickly.

“You’ll be sharing the spare room. Then we’ll be going through some new rules, and if you fail to listen this time, I won’t be as nice and patient as I had been before,” for someone lounging on a dusty couch, his words had both teens frozen in place in equal parts fear and worry. “You both belong to me now, and I _will_ have you behave and listen.” He glanced at Tubbo in particular. “For once, _you_ will listen and understand.”

▪️~~ ▪️~~ ▪️~~

Ranboo and Tubbo’s shared room was smaller than Tubbo’s original room. There was a wardrobe against one wall, and a large bed in another corner, large enough to fit the twins well enough. Having spent roughly a week sleeping under the same blankets, within arm’s reach of one another, they thought it’d be best to continue sharing, especially since it was unlikely Nightmare would let them have a second mattress.

There was a lock on the door, but it was from the outside, which they found out when they were brought to the room and Nightmare locked them in with only a single sputtering lantern for light, since there was not even a boarded up window. Tubbo idly wondered if this home had been made for the very purpose it was being used currently. As if Nightmare knew he'd have to leave the grotto with him as a prisoner.

He sat on the bed, folding his legs under him as his brother - it was still a weird thing to think of Ranboo as his brother, as his _twin,_ but he saw the similarities and took more comfort in them so he didn’t feel like he was drowning in despair over their situation - paced the room.

“What do you think he’ll do now?” Ranboo asked as he paced, restlessly fiddling with the bracelet-cuff, but they both knew it was impossible to take it off their wrists unless they wanted to lose their entire hand.

“I don’t… I don’t really know. He’s nothing like the man I remember him being…” _It had been an act in the first place, after all._ “I don’t, well, I don’t think he’s going to do anything _too_ bad, he needs our magic. He knows how my magic works.” Tubbo made a face down at the floor, rubbing his soulmark with his thumb. “I’m guessing he has an idea of how your magic works.”

Ranboo scoffed and gave one last tug on his bracelet-cuff before throwing his arms to his sides. “I hate this.”

“I know, I do too. But, we’ll be okay, right?” Tubbo wasn’t sure who he was trying to reassure here. “We’ll, it’ll be okay.”

He really wished he could believe his own words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh, I wanted to just call Dream Dream but continuity is my burden... Since Tubbo doesn't actually know his name, I can't use his name.  
> Then again, Dream here really is a nightmare, so it fits~


	13. Chores

Tubbo was tasked with making the meals. Under supervision, of course, but he made the meals for the three of them. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for him, having made meals for himself since he had been old enough to use the stove without burning himself. It was, however, unnerving to have his every move watched by Nightmare. It wasn’t like he could poison the food, Nightmare was the one who had had all the ingredients during the trip here.

He was also tasked with sweeping the entire building, which, again, wasn’t totally out of the usual, but the supervision was the worst.

Ranboo was tasked with chores as well, mainly in cleaning the dishes and getting rid of the dust everywhere else. Tubbo couldn’t decide if he was glad Ranboo had the task that was always the hardest for him, being so short, or if he felt bad for being glad. He settled for a lukewarm middle.

The two were allowed mostly anywhere in the cabin, except for Nightmare’s room. Not that they wanted to be anywhere near that room. The only exception was when he had to leave the cabin, in which the two were forcibly dragged to their shared bedroom and locked inside.

It was annoying how Tubbo was beginning to think the hand bruise would never fade, and even before the obsidian bracelet-cuff cut him off from his healing powers, he had never been able to use his magic to heal himself. He may never have gotten ill, but bruises and red marks and cuts only faded with time, not magic.

When they were trapped in their room, it was the only time the two really relaxed, knowing Nightmare wasn’t even in the cabin. He would likely be hunting or gone to a nearby village for supplies - how nearby was unknown to Tubbo, all he knew was that it took roughly a day for Nightmare to return - or simply because he wanted fresh air and or maybe for no reason at all. Ranboo and Tubbo would talk, try to laugh for a bit, tell stories - the more Tubbo spoke of his childhood, the more livid Ranboo became on his brother’s behalf - or even on the few times they had managed it, read the novels they found in the living room. Sometimes Nightmare wouldn’t even notice they had a book, while others he would snatch them back before locking the twins up in their room.

Ranboo often was the only reading for the two of them, once he saw how Tubbo struggled to keep the letters from shifting before his eyes. That wasn’t to say Tubbo didn’t still try to read to Ranboo on occasion, it just wasn’t often.

With the return of chores, came the return for absolute perfectionism that weighed down heavily over Tubbo with every meal. Rather than the disappointed words or looks, however, Nightmare was more physical. Slaps that ranged from light to world-spinning, grips that always _always_ bruised, even grabbing them by the hair to get their undivided attention as he slowly went through the smallest mistakes he or Ranboo made.

The food was too hot or too cold, too plain or too salty, even mistakes that weren’t even Tubbo’s fault when it came to the meals. Or there were spots on the floor that still had dust, or the floors weren’t spotless - despite the fact most of the spots were due to age - or any small thing that wasn’t up to Nightmare’s standards.

Ranboo made the most ‘mistakes’ as he had not been used to these sorts of chores. Tubbo tried to help out as much as he could, but often couldn’t as Nightmare had forbade him from touching Ranboo’s chores. They had lost a fair amount of dishes due to Nightmare, in some way or another, caused Ranboo to drop them, either as he was putting them in the sink, or while he was washing or drying them. It only ever caused him to use more force, often yelling at Ranboo for breaking the dishes, and whenever Ranboo attempted to defend himself… Tubbo flinched every time.

Half a month had passed, and Tubbo flinched as the plate in Ranboo’s hand was shaken out, crashing onto the floor and shattering between him and Nightmare, who’s expression only grew in fury. Neither teen could do anything as a loud, resounding _smack_ echoed throughout the little cabin and Ranboo dropped to the floor with a quiet groan. Tubbo had to keep himself seated, gripping the table to keep himself from rushing over to his brother. Him doing anything would only add to Ranboo’s punishment, according to Nightmare. _The only way he’d learn._

Tubbo hated it. Loathed his uselessness with a passion.

Nightmare turned from Ranboo and made eye contact with Tubbo, who tensed. “Living room. I’ll let you heal him once he’s finished with his chores,” he looked back at the teen on the floor, who had yet to get back up but at least stopped groaning. “If this stupidity continues, I may stop allowing you to be healed, boy. Clean up your mess and get back to work.”

Tubbo set his jaw as he watched Ranboo struggle to get back on his feet, wanting more than anything to help, but he only stood and left the room with Nightmare, leaving his brother alone. He tried reading but couldn’t focus on the letters so he simply pretended to read, keeping an ear out for his brother. He rubbed his soulmark, tracing the outline.

It took an hour for Ranboo to finish, and the moment he stepped into the living room, Tubbo was out of his seat, book abandoned, wordlessly raising his arm to Nightmare so he could unlock the bracelet-cuff. He saw how his brother covered as much of his face as possible with his hair and his ripped mask.

“Use your words, kid,” Nightmare _tsk_ ed and Tubbo wanted to scream.

“Let me heal him. Please,” he said as softly as he could, dipping his head as he spoke.

“Good. Okay, you can,” he grabbed his little weird key and unlocked the bracelet-cuff and Tubbo was already on his way to Ranboo.

He had Ranboo sit down and he sang the song softly, brushing his brother’s hair out of his face to see the outline of the slap fade away. He smiled a little, hoping to brighten Ranboo’s expression, but he simply looked exhausted, and he felt how he trembled slightly.

Wishing he could do more, Tubbo slipped the bracelet-cuff back on. For a brief moment, he wondered why he hadn’t gotten the fuzzy feeling in his head, but the thought fled as quickly as it had appeared. It was probably because he had gotten used to the feeling he could no longer tell the difference when he had the bracelet-cuff on or off.

It was a few hours later, in the early afternoon, while Tubbo swept the floor in the kitchen when the sounds of people shouting nearby reached his ears. He dropped the broom as he stared in the direction of the voices, a distance away from the cabin but still within earshot.

He hadn’t noticed movement until a hand fisted his hair and dragged him out of the room, and he gasped and cried out, which did him no favours except cause Nightmare to shake his head roughly.

“Shut. Up.” He hissed and Tubbo put a hand over his mouth as he was hauled to his room, where Ranboo was already standing, equally as shocked as he was. “Don’t make a sound if you want to make it to tomorrow.”

He practically threw Tubbo into the room before shutting the door and locking it, just as the sounds of people outside came closer.

Ranboo and Tubbo both stopped breathing when they heard a very distinct voice shout.

_“Anyone there?”_

_Tommy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who finally showed up~


	14. Search

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel the need to warn for this chapter of Character Death and the smallest amount of blood, just to be on the safe side.

“Anyone in there? Hello?” Tommy shouted, and the brothers heard him knock on the front door, before indistinct words to whoever else was with him.

Tubbo was moving before he even realized it, jiggling the doorknob, frustrated over the lock keeping them trapped. _Tommy had found them. His soulmate had found him._

“Careful,” Ranboo whispered, appearing beside him by the door as they heard the front door actually open.

“This is a surprise, I don’t get many visitors,” Nightmare’s voice was hard to hear and both teens pressed their ears to the door to catch as much as they could. “Do you need something?”

“Woa-oh, yeah, right, uh, hello,” Tommy sounded like he was stammering, and then he was cut off by a voice Tubbo vaguely recalled.

“We’re here on official Empire business,” light, feminine, and when Tubbo tried to remember the name, he could only recall a helmet full of fluffy hair.

“This far north? Isn’t the Empire down south?” Nightmare questioned.

“Well, yes,” the feminine voice answered kindly. “But this extends past the borders of the Antarctic Empire. May we come in?”

“Who are you?”

“Oh, right, apologies. Knight Puffy of the Antarctic Empire. This young man is my squire, Tom, and these are the rest of my squadron. May I know your name, sir?”

“Squire, you say? Ah, I call myself Dream,” there was an irony there that almost made Tubbo choke on his own breath, having been thinking of the man as a Nightmare.

“Oh?” Puffy sounded curious. “Curious name. May we come in, now?”

“I’d rather you not. It’s quite small…” Nigh- _Dream_ said. “What is this Empire business?”

“We’re looking for some people of interest, and I was wondering if maybe you had seen anything?”

Tubbo couldn’t stand it, and despite how his mind spun with contradicting suggestions, how he should _stay silent, how he should scream, how Dream will kill them, how..._

He ignored everything as he pounded on the door. _“TOMMY!”_ He shouted as loud as he could, knowing he startled Ranboo who jumped away from him and the door.

“Tu-” He barely heard Tommy’s voice over the sound of him pounding on the door, when Ranboo joined in.

_“TOMMY!”_ He shouted, yanking down his mask as he did so. “GET US OUT OF HERE!”

There was a scuffle of feet and something crashing down by the entrance of the cabin and shouts came from outside, which only spurred the brothers to pound on the door harder, even as Tubbo felt his fist growing numb from the hard wood. They heard Puffy shout something a few seconds later before heavy footsteps hurried over into the cabin, towards them.

The lock was undone, and the two quickly stumbled back as the door opened, showing them the lanky figure Tubbo had almost forgotten but at the same time could _never_ forget, and he rushed towards him, wrapping his arms around the tall teen as he felt Ranboo join in from behind seconds later.

“You’re okay!” Tommy cried, seemingly trying to hug the two completely but couldn’t since there was too much to hold. When Tubbo pulled away, he was surprised to see tears pricking his soulmate’s eyes, though they were quickly and fiercely wiped away. “Ah, shit, you’re both okay!”

“What about…?” Ranboo asked, looking out the room apprehensively. Looking out to see if Dream was there.

“Puffy and the other guards are taking care of him,” Tommy looked back to where the entrance of the cabin was. “I think they should have subdued him by now, I don’t hear anymore fighting."

Tubbo laughed breathlessly and dove back into Tommy’s chest. He hadn’t realized he was crying until he felt his friend’s shirt become a bit wet, but for the moment, he couldn’t care less.

▪️~~ ▪️~~ ▪️~~

The three teens finally managed to make their way out of the shared bedroom the twins had been living in for the past couple weeks to see the interior of the cabin empty aside from the woman Tubbo remembered to be Puffy, who smiled brightly when she saw them approach.

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you, both of you,” she looked to Ranboo then Tubbo, walking over to them carefully, as if the two would be afraid of her. “Are you okay? Anything we should be worried about?”

“That’s what I forgot to ask!” Tommy cried, making both twins jump in surprise. He had the decency to look sheepish. “Sorry, sorry. But yeah, anything?”

Tubbo was about to shake his head when Ranboo spoke up. “He locked our magic,” he said, raising his hand to show the bracelet-cuff. “I think he has the keys on him.”

“We’ll search for them in a bit,” Puffy assured and Tubbo couldn’t help but smile slightly. He knew he’d feel better once they left the cabin for good and never had to see Dream ever again, but for now, reunited with his soulmate and an entire group of guards who came to save him and Ranboo, he felt… _free._

“Do you need anything from this place before we go?” Tommy asked suddenly, as they stood there.

Both Ranboo and Tubbo shook their heads quickly. There was nothing in the building they would want to bring with them.

“Okay, that’s good. Come on, then! Let’s get out of here, it’s so fucking dark,” Tommy muttered as he looked around the place.

Puffy ushered the trio out of the cabin and the twins squinted at the change of light, the sun much stronger than the lanterns they had been forced to get used to. Tubbo found himself barely able to contain the urge to bounce on his heels as he saw the trees once again and felt the gentle breeze on his face.

Several feet away, Tubbo saw a cluster of guards surrounding the man who had done all of this to him and Ranboo, and could only smile at the sight. He felt an emotion swell up within his chest and before he knew it, he was shouting.

“Fuck you!” He kept his distance from the cluster holding his captor, he wasn’t a _complete_ idiot, gripping both Tommy and Ranboo’s hands as tightly as he could like they’d disappear in a second, and he felt how they squeezed back just as tight. “You will _never_ use me or Ranboo again! Fuck you for everything you’ve done to us!”

“Burn in hell!” Tommy crowed. "Suck it, green man!"

“You won’t hurt me or my family again, asshole,” Ranboo didn’t yell or crow, but his words were still heard over the din of Tubbo and Tommy’s combined voices, and Tommy’s crowing wavered in confusion.

Dream looked up through the guards in front of him and all the joy that had burst out of Tubbo fizzled into instinctive fear.

Several things happened at once, the moment Tubbo took an instinctual step back. Shouts of pain echoed in the forest as guards fell to the ground and Dream was on his feet, running straight towards the teens, but his eyes were on Tubbo alone. Puffy let out an alarmed shout and Tubbo let go of Tommy and Ranboo’s hands, raising his own up to try to protect himself, his mind screaming at him to _protect_ himself.

A white flash of light almost blinded him when Dream was a single step away, his hands out reaching for Tubbo’s neck, and then something small was in his hand as the man body-slammed him to the floor, Tubbo shutting his eyes tightly as he felt hands wrap around his neck.

▪️~~ ▪️~~ ▪️~~

_“Tubbo!”_ Ranboo and Tommy cried at the same time, but went silent at the growl that came from Dream.

“You’re dead, brat,” he snarled, and Tubbo refused to open his eyes, even as the hands squeezed around his neck and he couldn’t breathe. “You…”

His voice faded, as if Tubbo was close to passing out, but it had only been literal seconds, when Dream coughed something wet and horrible and something dripped onto Tubbo’s face. Only then did he open his eyes and saw what was going on.

Dream was over him, his hands around his throat, but he wasn’t squeezing anymore. Tubbo’s own hands were pressed up against his chest, trying to push him away. Something red slipped out of Dream’s mouth, dripping onto Tubbo’s face, and as he pulled his hands away to grab at the hands around his throat, he saw a couple things that had him pause. The first was the lack of a bracelet around his wrist, and the second was something black, thin but shaped much like a knife of some kind, protruding from Dream’s chest, directly where his hands had been moments prior. Directly over Dream's heart.

He coughed again and more flecks of red fell from his lips before he fell to the side, hands slack around Tubbo who scrambled away in horror. He saw the moment the light faded from Dream’s eyes, before he blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bracelet never did click after Ranboo was healed~


	15. Reunions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All good things must come to an end, eventually.  
> (this isn't some cryptic stuff to say something bad happens here, I swear it's happy, I just wanted to quote Tubbo)

Tubbo awoke to the sensation of movement under him, and jolted up only to have the world spin dangerously.

“Woah, there, man! Lay the fuck back down!” Although there was an attempt to be quieter than he was, Tubbo still flinched at Tommy’s grating voice, before he paused.

Tommy… his soulmate. They had finally gotten out of the cabin when Nightmare… When Dream…

He looked around to see the sky above, purple and orange high above him, and a large open wooden box that he laid in, along with Tommy and Ranboo who appeared to be out to the world beside him.

“Are you okay, man?” Tommy asked, frowning down at him in concern.

“Wh-what happened?” Tubbo whispered, coughing as he spoke and it hurt his throat.

“Uh, what do you remember?”

“Hands,” Tubbo brushed a hand against his throat which hurt and he winced, dropping his hand onto the wooden floor under him.

“Dream tried to kill you,” his soulmate said after a couple moments of thought, hands moving to show the actions. “But you, you had something in your hand and stabbed him, right in the heart. You killed him, Tubbo.”

“Huh,” was all he could say in reply, staring up at the sky as the purple deepened further and further into the sky.

▪️~~ ▪️~~ ▪️~~

They went back to L’Manburg capital, which took only a few days of travel. During that time, Tubbo spent most of it quiet as Ranboo explained what happened to Tommy after he had gone to tell his family what had happened, though he skipped most of the punishments the two had gone through. He only alluded to it when he spoke of Tubbo healing him a few times, which was how they knew about the keys that Dream had kept on him all the time. Ranboo’s own bracelet-cuff had been taken off a little after Tubbo had passed out from the exertion of creating a shiv out of obsidian. It was apparently extremely taxing to use magic on a natural magic-suppressant object.

He learned he had been passed out for a full day, and during that time, they dug a nameless, shallow grave, searching the body before they buried Dream and left, carefully moving Tubbo onto the wagon they had brought along that held supplies for the squadron. Ranboo had also told Tommy about how he and Tubbo were twins. Apparently, Tommy had been mid-exclamations over _how in the hell_ when he just stopped, stared at the two, before nodding and saying something along the lines of "that explains so much, actually." He would not explain what he meant by that.

Tommy also explained his side of events. How he found the hill empty except for part of the ruined mask Ranboo wore - and still wore, although it really was ruined beyond repair at this point - and knew something was wrong. He had gone back to his family and told them, as well as Ranboo’s parents - he corrected himself, _their_ parents - and when patrols were beginning to roll out between the two nations, Tommy insisted he come along with one. Puffy was the only one willing to take him on, on the condition he not make his identity as Prince known to the average citizen. They settled with him being her squire, and they were the first squadron to find the grotto. Tommy had somewhat forgotten the exact location of the grotto, but they still got there. They had found it devoid of life outside the lightning bugs, and the fish in the underground lake.

Tommy had been the one to find the guitar with the carved backing, reading _“H E L P U S”_ in straight lines.

It took a bit of time for them to find tracks, but they found some and followed it as far as it went.

“By the time we got to that cabin, we had long since lost the trail and had to look for people when we saw the smoke from the chimney,” Tommy ended. “It was fucking annoying how long it took to find new leads that led us to you, but I’m just… I’m really glad you’re both alright.”

“Yeah, man, same,” Ranboo answered with a wry smile, laughing when Tommy swatted at his arm and missing completely. Tubbo _didn’t_ miss the brief second of fear in his brother’s eyes when Tommy’s hand had been moving in his direction, but he was relieved Tommy himself hadn’t noticed.

They got to the capital in the late morning and brought straight through the gates to the castle, where a large group awaited them. One of the guards in the squadron had run off ahead to inform the royals of both nations they had found Prince Ranboo and Tommy’s soulmate. Tubbo quickly glanced at the group, spotting the vaguely familiar figures of Tommy’s family, but it was the two adults standing just a bit away from them that caught and held his attention.

Ranboo had told him about their parents. Their father, King Schlatt, was a tired man, except he _always_ made time for Ranboo when he needed it. In his early childhood, he winced at the memories of his father drinking in excess, noting he was more often than not sad or furious or no apparent good reason - Ranboo now felt like he understood the emotions Schlatt felt, it was before the lantern festival was decided upon, still upset over the son he had lost too soon - but he calmed down as Ranboo grew older. He stopped drinking by the time Ranboo had been twelve, and only rarely drank at all currently, in moderation and apparently enforcing a ‘single-glass’ rule for himself that meant he had a single glass to drink and once he finished, he would only have water or some non-alcoholic drinks.

He cared greatly for his son, and had been the first parent to learn about the teleportation magic Ranboo had. He ensured Ranboo had teachers who his son would enjoy learning from, both in the mundane, princely education and the magic.

Their mother, Queen Adelaide, was a caring but ill woman. She had been born into the throne, but had grown with horrible, debilitating illnesses that left her bedridden for days to weeks without end. Despite this, she cared for her people above her own health. Ranboo often spoke of how it was her that got him into gardening, as the garden was in perfect view of her window, when she was too ill to sleep with her husband. Or that had been the case until the flower cured her.

She was still rather frail due to the illnesses that had ravaged her body since childhood, but Ranboo spoke of her being the strongest woman he had ever met. She had a silver tongue and could cut through lies with a single look, but she was playful and had a laugh that was infectious.

So, as Tubbo and the other teens got out of the wagon and looked at the group waiting for them, he spotted their parents make the first move.

King Schlatt had dark brown hair, thick sideburns and a well-trimmed moustache. His eyes were dark, though Tubbo had a feeling it was simply because of the distance even as it slowly shrank, and he had a carefully schooled expression as he looked at the two of them. Tubbo wondered if he knew.

Queen Addie was a thin woman with many freckles and pale hair, done up in an elegant, braided bun. She stared at Tubbo for several seconds, a hand going to her mouth before she rushed forward, closing the distance and stopping just in front of the teens.

“Is… Is this real?” She asked, a hand out hesitantly towards him, which he took shakily.

For a moment, it was just him and her. She was roughly his height, if a couple inches taller, and Tubbo saw they shared similar hands, jawlines, even hair texture. She had dark eyes, a brilliant golden-brown, and they swam as she did her best to hold back tears.

“Have you really returned to us?”

“Hi,” Tubbo said breathlessly, unable to find a way to get air.

Queen Addie let out a watery chuckle and repeated the greeting, dropping the hand from her mouth to carefully cup Tubbo’s face. He leaned into the touch, half-shutting his eyes to revel in the physical contact, yet still unwilling to look away from the woman in front of him.

“You’ve grown,” she giggled, her voice wavering despite the tears having already started falling. “My son, you came home.”

Tubbo surged forward, wrapping his arms around her tightly almost before the words had fully left her mouth, and he felt his chest warm similar to the moment he had lifted his lantern into the sky and watched as all the lanterns danced above them as she quickly and just as tightly embraced him.

He was finally home.

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't the end of the universe. I know I left a lot of threads untied, so I plan on writing some one-shots! If you have any suggestions, don't be afraid to comment below!!!  
> Some one-shots I already plan on writing: Family Bonding (good dadschlatt content); Soulmate Bonding (because Tommy is(n't) clingy); Nightmares (and acknowledging trauma); and Magic Lesson (Ranboo shows off his powers, and they may find a new power because they're together)
> 
> I really hope yall enjoyed Little Flower, this had been much, much too fun to write, and the interactions I had with people in the comments made me so happy, it's actually been a little overwhelming at times. In all the best ways overwhelming. <3  
> I mean, this is the most I've ever gotten *while* writing. Over 8000 hits, 230 subscriptions, 600 kudos, 179 individual comment threads(which is crazy to me, thank you), and over 200 bookmarks in total. I cannot thank yall enough for this kind of support, it's unreal.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I always look forward to hearing back from people, and if you don't know what to say, you can follow any of these feedback options, and I'll be sure to answer!  
> Feedback
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